A Prayer to Be Strong and of Good Courage
By: Tiffany Thibault
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. - Deuteronomy 31:6
Our Bible verse consists of words spoken to Israel as they were on the verge of entering into their new land, of settling into their promised home. They had been wandering the past 40 years in the wilderness while living in tents, because their fathers had not trusted God enough. Now though, it was time for the next generation to claim God’s promise. Excited as they may have been, taking their next steps meant facing some very real enemies. They needed to stay focused and do some really hard things that they had never done before.
Now it was time to stir up their strength, their courage and their faith as they were reminded of who their God was and how much He truly cared for them.
So many things in this world can strike fear in our hearts today, but we can absolutely take encouragement from the pages of Scripture. We can see how Israel took to heart these words from Moses, moved forward and took over most of the land God had promised them in just seven years. The Israelites were able to move forward to fight, because they reminded themselves to: “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them.”
We too can build up our courage as we push down our fear, but really, only to a certain point on our own strength. The Israelites were only truly able to succeed to victory because they absolutely embraced this truth from the end of the verse: “for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” Those words give us the reason WHY they were able to completely move past their trembling knees, pounding hearts and the “what if’” racing thoughts.
The Israelites took to heart the word “Your” God. His presence was with them. He was not a far off, uninvolved God. He would not leave them. He would not forsake them. That word “forsake” means to abandon. God would NOT do that because they belonged to Him.
These words are powerful words for us too when we are facing challenging circumstances in our lives.
Be strong.
Be of good courage.
Do not fear.
Do not be afraid of them.
The Lord your God is the One who goes with you.
He will not leave you.
He will not forsake you.
No matter what battle you are facing today, take these words to heart. Fight those fearful thoughts with the truth that God is with you. God will not leave you. God will not abandon you. You are His.
Dear Lord,
Thank you for the promise that this verse gives to my faith. This is a powerful reminder that you are with me in every situation that I face. I can be strong, I can be filled with courage. I can go into my tough situations knowing that I do not need to have any fear because you are with me. I can cling to the promise that you will never leave me or forsake me because You are my God. Lord, increase my faith as I trust you to be God in every area of my life.
In Your name I pray,
Amen
Tiffany Thibault is the author of the Bible study “Being Fruitful”, loves leading Bible Study and speaking to women, encouraging them through truths from the Bible. She lives in the Mojave desert with her family and loves to explore the wilderness areas around her city.
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