Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go”.
What have I to fear when the Lord my God is with me wherever I go? This passage should give immeasurable courage to anyone who believes it. Constantly God is telling us, reminding us, that He is always with us wherever we go. So we shall fear nothing! If we honestly believed and truly understood the concept of God never leaving our side, we would most definitely never be afraid of anything. Some people who are now realizing this are changing the way they are living. No more doing things in “secret” or behind “closed doors”, nothing you do is without the God Almighty standing there next to you. But this truth is only for those who believe this verse.
Mathew 28: 19&20 Yeshua tells us to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, IAM with you always even to the end of the age”.
Ah, such a command as this! Knowing perfectly well that no one could possible live out this commission on his own, Yeshua follows with a very comforting reassurance. I picture the disciples (not having received the Spirit of God yet) coming to a sort of “about-face” as Yeshua was saying these things to them. Thinking to themselves, “Is this even possible? Surely He didn’t mean all nations? And how will He be with us till the end of the age?”. Yeshua knew what they were thinking, but had “inside information” about the Gift from God that was to come very soon, the Spirit of Power and Truth, the Spirit of God, which would change the world forever and empower men to live as “Sons of God”.
So God knew also the thoughts of Joshua when He commanded him to “not fear or be dismayed, IAM with you always”. Imagine this, Moses has just died and the leadership of the entire Israeli nation had been laid on Joshua, a mere assistant to Moses. The responsibility of Gods chosen people lies with Joshua now and to add to the pressure, God commands them to break camp and cross through the great Jordan river baptizing them into very dangerous and treacherous lands. You can guess the feelings Joshua was experiencing at this time, but God boosted him with confidence through His everlasting presence. This gave Joshua great courage in leading Israel into many victories and accomplishments marking him down as one of Israel’s greatest leaders.
Brothers and sisters, God has promised to be with you and I always and forever. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places through CHRIST! (Eph 1:3) We have something that the rest of the world doesn’t: We have the power to perform “impossibilities”, through CHRIST, that will change the face of humanity; not to mention start beautifying the Bride (if you want a good image of what the Bride of Christ, the Church, will look like in completion read Joel 2:2-11). Let us pray for a renewed spirit of our mind (Eph 4:23) and for mountain-moving faith (any size is good at this point- Matt 17:20); and nothing will be impossible for us!
November 16th, this marks 2 months now since I have been in this beautiful land and marks 1 month till I return to the opposite side of the globe. I was sitting in my room the other day and was thinking about the fact that I would be leaving this land soon, I began to tear up. I have grown very fond of this country! The people here are different that anything I have ever seen. They have a serenity about them even as they walk the streets, shop the markets, cook food, dance and sing, and especially pray. They may be missing their long-awaited messiah, Yeshau Ha’Mashiach, but they do have something that most Christians certainly do not have: they stand in great fear of the LORD! They are aware of the ever-presence of the Lord throughout all the day. In Romans 11: 26, Paul the Apostle tells us that all Jews will be saved and I believe and pray that that day will soon come.
The land here has something significant prowling around. About the feet of the everyday walkers, lies the existing scent of the promised Lamb of God that once walked, taught, and preformed wonders within. There is a “night and day” praying that has been going on for hundreds of years. And if you listen closely you can here the soft whisper of God telling you to “be still and know that IAM God”. Indeed, its as simple as that.
“For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” –Isaiah 55:12
