Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלוהים) says:
Many people today feel alone and fearful. But actually no one is alone. You do not live alone and you do not die alone, in life and in death you are Mine. I have known you from eternity to eternity. I appointed and consecrated you unto Me from your mother’s womb and I put eternity in each person’s heart.
For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this reason Christ died and returned to life, that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. Romans 14:7-9.
I AM Lord of the dead and the living. All are alive to Me.
“But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the LORD the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to Him.” Luke 20:37-38.
I have every hair on your head counted and I know when you sit and when you stand. Even before a word is on your tongue, I know the whole of it. Wherever you are I am there. Psalm 139:1-12. I keep you.
You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13.
And because of what I did for you in Jesus, physical death to your mortal body is nothing to fear for it will not keep you back from life eternal.
Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Hebrews 2:14-15.
For a believer, I liken physical death to sleep from which you wake up with joy in My presence.
You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever. Psalm 16:11.
I tell you many times in My Word, the Bible, to be strong and very courageous. That is like when I said “Light be,” when I tell you to “be” something, such as “be fruitful,” I am imparting to you the power to be just that. I AM and that is the verb “to be.” You could say that “I be”, in Me you live and move and have your being. I am there with you to be your healer, provider, helper, and your strength. So how can you be strong and courageous in the face of very threatening circumstances, such as when I redeemed the Israelites out of the slavery of Egypt and they stood facing the deepest part of the Red Sea on one side and a army thundering after them on chariots on the other? I told them: Fear not I am with you. I am with you wherever you go.
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the LORD your God. Isaiah 43:1-3.
And I have proved all those things true. How do I do that for you? I am the Most High. There is nothing that escapes My notice and nothing that can overcome Me. Nothing is too hard for Me. Nothing is impossible for Me. And nothing is too wonderful for Me. I have the final Word and I share My Words with you. And My Words are your life.
But there is more. I am love and I am light. And because fear has to do with punishment, perfect love casts out all fear. You can rest in My love for you. And My love gives you joy unspeakable filled with glory. And My joy is your strength. Being strong comes from a joyful heart, which is a confident heart. Confident in My love and care.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” 1 Joshua 1:9.
Moses ran in fear from Egypt after Pharaoh found out he had killed an Egyptian in anger over his beating one of his fellow Hebrews and hid his life away for forty years. When I called him to go to Pharaoh and deliver My people from slavery, he did not want to go. Why? He was fearful of what awaited him there and saw himself as nothing next to the armies of Pharaoh. But I told him how to be strong, courageous, and to go and set My people free: I would be with him. And that says it all. With Me his staff was enough to conquer a nation. And I am with you just as I was with Moses.
Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.” Exodus 3:10-12.
Certainly, I will be with you. No doubt, no fear, I am with you wherever you go.
I told Moses I would be with him to make him victorious, and I was and I did. When Moses saw the miracles I worked with and through him he was fascinated by My love, My power, My glory and My covenant faithfulness. All he wanted to do was stay close to Me, hear from Me, write My Word, and participate in My plans. He wanted to go to the land which I promised to My people since the days of Abraham, but he did not want to go unless I went with him.
Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people.” And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then he said to Him, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?” Exodus 33:13-16.
Now let us take a look at what I told Joshua when he had the task of following Moses as leader of My people to take them into the land I promised them by oath to Abraham. It was all about being strong and courageous but the way I instructed him to do that was by immersing himself in My Word and treading down the enemy.
Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:7-9.
He was to forge new paths along the ways set aside as of old.
To grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, they will raise up the former devastations; and they will repair the ruined cities. Isaiah 61:3-4.
When the Israelites faced the Red Sea on one side and the army of Pharaoh on the other they could not see the path through the Sea. But it was there all prepared since the foundation of the world for just that moment. And for each of you, it is the same.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10.
It is all prepared. That means you just have to walk it out. Brave, bold, confident, strong and courageous.
I Am there for you. You can be confident and unafraid always. Sing with David:
“I love You, O LORD my strength.” The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold am. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.” Psalm 18:1-3.
I love you. I am your strength and your song. Be strong. Be courageous. Be of good cheer, for I am here with you even now.