For today’s meditation we will read Joshua 1:5, “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.” (ESV)
This were the words of God to Joshua as he assured him that He would be with him just as He had been with Moses. The people of Israel were delivered from the bondage of cruel slavery in Egypt, and were led by Moses for forty years in the wilderness. Through these forty years the Israelites had undergone numerous experiences, and at the end of this journey the leadership was passed on from Moses to Joshua. As the mantle of leadership was laid on Joshua, he recalled the past, was aware of the present, and as he looked toward the future he was filled with fear and apprehension. It was at this point God spoke to Joshua. Though there is no record that Joshua revealed these fears to anyone, God knew all that was going on inside Joshua’s heart.
There may be fears and anxieties in your heart regarding the future that no one is aware of, but I hope that this message will encourage you to know that the God who created the heavens and the earth is mindful of all that you are going through. God will certainly give you courage and boldness through His word. Many face circumstances that are so overwhelming, and the fears that loom large in their hearts cannot be told to anyone. Maybe the challenges that you are facing are huge, and the fears regarding the future are enormous as well. The Lord wants to assure you that He will be with you, and stand by you just as He was with Moses.
Let us study the word to understand how God was with Moses, the challenges that Moses encountered, and how he overcame them. By so doing we too can face all challenges with God’s strength and help.
Moses’ first hurdle
The first challenge Moses encountered was himself. When God told Moses that He had chosen him to go and deliver the people of Israel from the hands of Pharaoh, this was Moses’ response.
We read in Exodus 3:11, But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (ESV)
Moses told God that he was nobody, and that he could never go and stand before Pharaoh to deliver the people of Israel.
Oftentimes the greatest challenge to overcome is ourselves as we have learnt to think in a particular way. Especially when we face some problems or difficulties we have trained ourselves to handle things in a certain way which in itself becomes a challenge to us. Maybe at time we have the same attitude that Moses had about himself. We resign ourselves to the fact that the situations that we are facing are beyond our control, and that we cannot handle them. Many students in schools and colleges are giving up on their studies saying that they are unable to cope. In these days especially, when children and young people come to this point, they refuse to change their stance. Keep in mind that God has given you the opportunity to study, and if He has given it to you, He will also help you complete the same.
There are families where husbands and wives want to quit as they are unable to manage the conflict or hardships. They feel that they have taken all the effort they can, and cannot carry on with the relationship. For some others, they feel this way with their jobs, and want to quit. The more and more that we have this attitude of negativity saying that things won’t work out, this tends to become a greater reality in our lives. This begins as a thought, is spoken as words, and soon it begins to play itself out in your life. Sadly, even those is ministry have been discouraged to believe that they cannot carry on the work that God has entrusted to them.
Moses refused to accept God’s call because of his previous experiences
Often we have this negative attitude because of experiences and hurts from the past, which remain strongly etched in our hearts. Remember that if we continue to live in the past we are likely to lose out on the present, and the future as well. We cannot change the past, but the present is ours, and the future is in the hands of God.
Sometimes when there is a conflict between husband and wife, they will in their arguments recount all that happened right from when they met each other. It is true that many memories from the past are fresh in our minds, but if with God’s help we are not willing to let go, and forget about them, the future will not be bright. Let us ask God to help us overcome this attitude of living in despair.
God’s promise to Moses
When Moses gave umpteen excuses to God as to why he could not fulfill God’s call, God did not let go of him. Instead, we read in Exodus 3:12, He said, “But I will be with you..” (ESV) The assurance that Moses received from God was that He would be with him. God did not guarantee Moses that he would be free from trouble, but He confirmed to him that since God had called Him, He would certainly remain with Moses so that he can accomplish the task that God had entrusted to him.
If you are a student in school or college tell yourself that God has given you the opportunity to study in that particular institution, and with God by your side you will finish the course. So also, if you are the head of a family, tell yourself that this family has been entrusted to you by God. God is with you and will help you overcome all the misunderstanding, hurts, unexpected issues and conflict in your relationship. Be assured that God is with you. In the past whenever there was an issue or conflict in marriage, couples tried hard to sort them out. However, in recent times people opt out of marriage for the smallest of differences or issues. This is contradictory to what the word of God teaches. Ask God to help you overcome all the hurdles and believe that God is with you and will help you triumph over every difficulty. If you have issues at work, go trusting in the Lord to help you handle all the hardships. Those who are superiors have different temperaments, and not all are alike. Nonetheless if God is with you, He will help you overcome all of these hard situations.
God was with Joseph
A great example in the bible is Joseph who found himself in tough situations. His own brothers threw him into a pit. When Joseph had no human help, the Lord was with Joseph. Joseph was sold as a slave and lost his freedom, but Joseph never lost the presence of God in his life. Later Joseph was sold as a slave to Potiphar’s house, and even there his master observed that God was with Joseph. There too Joseph was falsely accused and thrown in prison, but even there God was with him.
If we observe the life of Moses and Joshua there was a marked difference. Moses began a journey and God went ahead of him, but for Joshua God promised him that He would remain with him wherever he went.
No matter what happens to you say with confidence that when God is with you nothing will prevail against you. Irrespective of how your circumstances look or your past experiences were, be firm in your faith to believe that God is with you, and He will help you be victorious in all you do. If you are not well or feeling weak, keep telling yourself that ‘God is with you’. Our body is the temple of the living God, and when challenged with sickness, speak words of healing and restoration.
We can do everything with God’s strength
Let us say with the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (ESV)
This means that God is with me to help me lead my family aright. The Lord will help me complete my education, and He will heal my body. Say this for every area of your live, not looking to the circumstances, but instead putting your faith in the Lord who is with you. With His strength you will be able to do everything.
The Lord saved Peter
We read about an incident where Jesus walked on water, and Peter who saw this astounding miracle wanted to walk on water just as Jesus did. Peter wanted to do as Jesus did, and Jesus beckoned him to come and did not hinder him as many leader would do today. As long as Peter’s eyes were on Jesus, he was able to walk on water just as Jesus did. However, when he began to look around at the tumultuous wind and waves, he began to drown. In the midst of such a crisis when Peter called out to the Lord, the Lord stretched out His hands to raise him up again.
No matter what you’re situations are like, and though they may seem to overwhelm you, just take a moment to call out to the Lord, and He will deliver you. This is not the positive thinking the word is talking about, but this is about putting our faith and trust in Jesus.
Lessons from creation of man
If you are wondering as to why we should live trusting in the Lord, let me explain it to you.
We read in Genesis 2:7, “then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” (ESV)
God created man from the dust of the earth, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life so that man could become a living being. There are lots of costly material in the world like gold and silver, but God decided to create man out of the dust of the earth. That is the reason why when the spirit departs from a man, his body is returned back to the dust. The primary material God used to create man was dust, and the only reason why man became special was because God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. So, if man has to be the person God intended for him to be, he must have the spirit of God living inside of him.
Everything God created was merely with His words, and it was only man who was formed by God’s hands, and only into man God breathed His life into. Man was made in the likeness and image of God. He was given authority to rule over all of God’s creation, and could dominate all creatures with just his word. It was the breath of life that God breathed into man that made him so special, and distinguished from all other creation. At one point when Adam disobeyed God’s command, and decided to live as he wished there was a major downfall. All the emotions inside of man changed from that day. The good emotions were replaced with fear, shame, guilt, anger and jealousy leading to division, quarrels and murder. God’s image in Adam and Eve were replaced by base and worldly qualities.
God’s plan to save mankind
As God observed mankind, He knew that they were not created to lead defeated lives. In order to restore mankind back to the original position, God the Father sent His son Jesus into the world. Jesus led a victorious life, and any sort of lack never perturbed Him. Once when there were more than 5000 people with no food in the wilderness, Jesus arranged for all of them to be seated in 50’s. One cannot imagine sitting at a wedding knowing that there is no food for them. The disciples did as Jesus bid, and the only thing in their hand was five loaves of bread and two fish. They hand it over to Jesus, and as Jesus blessed it, the food began to multiply so that everyone there is filled, and they are able to take twelve baskets of leftover food. Jesus ruled over lack and want. Also, Jesus had authority over every kind of disease.
Once Jesus met a man who was sick and bedridden, waiting for his healing for thirty eight long years. With just a word Jesus healed him, and gave him strength to stand up and walk. When the winds and waves beat against the boat in which they were travelling, Jesus was able to calm it with His word. Jesus exercised authority over nature. Finally when they crucified Jesus on the cross, they imagined that they had finished with Jesus. However, death could not hold Jesus who rose victorious from the grave on the third day, and He lives forever. This is the God who assures us that He is with us. If such a God is with us there is nothing to fear, and nothing that will be impossible with Him.
Think about the twelve disciples of Jesus, all of whom were so different in temperaments. Most of them, except a couple of them, were ordinary men who were unschooled. Jesus transformed them, and used them to turn the world upside down. The Lord can do the same for you for He will be with you, and establish you.
God will never leave us nor forsake us
These are God’s word to us from the second part of Hebrews 13:5, For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (NKJV)
Everything that God has entrusted to you, your husband or you wife, your children, your body, your education, your work and your church, God will help you do your very best, and He will certainly be with you. Place all of them into the hands of God, and ask Him to help you in all of these relationships. We cannot do this in our own strength for we realize we are dust, and to dust we will return. However, if you call on the Lord, we can be sure that He will guide our future irrespective of what lies ahead. The Lord will be with us and give us victory. This is God’s guarantee to His children that He will never leave us nor forsake us, for the same God who was with Moses will remain with us. If we believe we will be victorious in everything, and in every area of our lives.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
