Do Not Be Afraid
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. - Deuteronomy 31:6
In one of Moses’ final charges to the children of Israel, he gave them a four-fold command: (1) Be strong; (2) Be of a good courage; (3) Fear not; (4) Do not be afraid of them. What I love about this challenge is that Moses actually only gave them two orders: Be strong and don’t be frightened. He just repeated the last one three times and in three various forms. Why? Probably because he knew the people were afraid. It was their fear that cost them the Promised Land the first time around. I believe Moses knew their fear was more detrimental to them than any enemy they would face in Canaan.
But here’s my favorite part. Moses doesn’t merely tell them not to be afraid, but he explains to them why they don’t need to fear. For each of the three times he addressed their anxiety, he gave a reason why they could be courageous and go forward.
Be of good cheer. Why? Because the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee — Oh, what a blessed truth! We are not alone. We don’t have to face the unknowns of life without God by our side. We don’t have to climb the mountains or wander through the valleys without God’s constant guidance and loving presence. Yes, there are enemies in the land, but we don’t have to fight them alone. Praise God!
Fear not. Why? Because the Lord will not fail thee. — Our plans don’t always work. Our strength is not always sufficient. If we’re depending on our abilities, our faith, or our methods, we have every reason to fear because each of those things can fail. We can let ourselves down. Other people can let us down. But God never lets us down. He never fails. Not once has something slipped by His notice or fallen from His grasp. We can depend on God, and because of that, we need not fear.
Do not be afraid. Why? Because God will not forsake thee. The fair-weather friends will run when the going gets tough, but not God. He stands by us through the toughest of storms, and we have His promise that He will never leave us. We didn’t start this journey alone, and we don’t have to finish it alone. God is with us always.
Whatever giants or scary circumstances you may be facing today, be of good courage, fear not, and don’t be afraid. Why? Because God is with you in the trial, and He will never fail you or forsake you. You can count on Him. You can lean on Him. You can trust in His strength and His goodness. And you can face your enemy head-on because God is on your side.