Never Alone
Read Deuteronomy 31:6-8; Joshua 1:1-9
What had sustained Moses during those difficult years as leader of the nation of Israel? It was not his Egyptian education or his own personal strength. In fact, more than once he almost broke under the load and tried to quit. No, Moses was sustained by a promise: “He will not fail thee, nor forsake the”! It was the promise of the presence of the Lord.
When Moses died, Joshua took over the rule of the nation; and the Lord gave him the same sustaining promise! “As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee; I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee” (Jos 1:5). Moses needed the promise for carrying his burdens, and Joshua needed the promise for fighting his battles. And the promise worked!
The older a man grows, the more burdens he must carry and the more battles he must fight. How difficult it is for us to be both Moses and Joshua in our places of responsibility! But we have the same promise that they trusted: “Let your conversation [behavior] be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb 13:5). Our Lord’s last words to His disciples were “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world [age]” (Mt 28:20).
The Christian is never alone. No matter what burdens you must carry or what battles you must fight, your Saviour is at your side to help you. Yield control to Him and let Him accomplish His purpose in and through you.
(Copyright, Warren W. Wiersbe. First appeared in Thoughts for Men on the Move. May not be copied or reproduced without express written permission of the author.)
Dr. Warren Wiersbe (1929-2019) was an internationally known Bible teacher, author, and conference speaker. He graduated in 1953 from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Lombard, Illinois. While attending seminary, he was ordained as pastor of Central Baptist Church in 1951 and served until 1957. From September 1957 to 1961, Wiersbe served as Director of The Literature Division for Youth for Christ International. From 1961 to 1971 he pastored Calvary Baptist Church of Covington, Kentucky south of Cincinnati, Ohio. His sermons were broadcast as the “Calvary Hour” on a local Cincinnati radio station. From 1971 to 1978, He served as the pastor of Moody Church in Chicago 1971 to 1978. While at Moody Church he continued in radio ministry. Between August 1979 and March 1982, he wrote bi-weekly for Christianity Today as “Eutychus X”, taught practical theology classes at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and wrote the course material and taught a Doctor of Ministry course at Trinity and Dallas Seminary. In 1980 he transitioned to Back to the Bible radio broadcasting network where he worked until 1990. Dr. Wiersbe became Writer in Residence at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids and Distinguished Professor of Preaching at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. In his lifetime, Dr. Wiersbe wrote over 170 books—including the popular Be series, which has sold over four million copies. Dr. Wiersbe was awarded the Gold Medallion Lifetime Achievement by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).
