God is With You
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9
I was reminded of this verse recently. It’s a great verse and a familiar one to many. We looked at this verse as we went through the book of Joshua this past Fall in our sermon series.
I share it again with you today as an encouragement during this time. When you think of how we all looked to 2021, the New Year, hoping for it to be different and yet we have entered this year with another lockdown.
With all this it can leave you with a feeling of hopelessness regarding Covid, let alone all the other struggles of life. Some people ask, what’s the point, what are we to do?
This passage was an encouragement and mission given to Joshua and the people of Israel before going into the promised land and the battles that were to come with that. It is an encouragement and mission given to us today. This is God’s Word boldly encouraging us to be bold and to be courageous. To remember that we are not alone. That God is with us. God is still on His throne. God is still at work in our world. Still at work in your life.
In my job as a pastor, especially this past year, I have had many conversations with so many people who are feeling down, feeling alone, feeling depressed. I have sought to have a positive outlook during this time with God’s help. This verse has helped me and reminded me that though things seem hopeless. We know they won’t stay this way forever. That God is with us. That God is above all this.
We can stay strong and courageous in this year of 2021. For God will give us the strength we need if we lean on Him. If we trust Him. If we put our faith in Him.
Many times we can want to turn away from situations that seem scary or overwhelming. Like this second lockdown that we are in. However, we can face these times with confidence. When we begin believing what this verse says.
We must believe that we’re not alone and that we’ve got God with us wherever we go, and because of that we can face any situation. We’ve got God on our side.
This was said to Joshua as he was being sent into the promised land with a big mission ahead of him. We have a mission ahead of us too. To continue to proclaim Jesus, to teach others of God’s Word, and to show His love to others. That is the mission before us in which we need to be strong and courageous.