Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

This is the time of year when band kids who have been looking forward to the end of school begin to realize what that means. The seniors will be leaving. In most bands, I think this brings a measure of angst to the underclassmen. They’ve seen those kids as the leaders. They are often the best players. How will the band survive the loss?

The Israelites are on the doorstep of the Promised Land. They have never known a leader other than Moses. And for the most part, that has been more than acceptable. Moses has followed God so closely for forty years that they knew, when they followed Moses, they were following God. But Moses’ time is up. He’s dying. And he’s not going to cross the Jordan and enter the Promised Land with them. What are they going to do? How will they survive? There’s only one Moses!

In the midst of their turmoil and angst, God gives words of comfort. Be strong and courageous! But they didn’t feel strong and courageous! How could that be a reality for them? God, through Moses, was speaking a blessing. He was declaring a hoped-for future. They respected and honored Moses. So when he said this, it carried weight.

But also, they were very soon to find out that, though they were right about there only being one Moses, God had a Joshua. God’s ways are higher than our ways. He has plans and resources that we could never have imagined. He is ever-living and His work has no end date. He will go on and He intends for His people to go on.

When we feel that we are coming to an ending, we can look to God and He will show us a new beginning! We may not see it, but we don’t have to. If we keep our eyes on Him, we will be able to step forward in strength and courage!

 

Blessings,

Pastor Russ