"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you"
A verse so strong and powerful. Yet it only contains 29 words. 121 letters. 149 characters with spaces.
The words: Strong, Courageous, Afraid, Terrified, Never and Forsake stand out the most.
If you read the verse in context, you will learn that the Lord is speaking to Moses about Joshua becoming his successor. Following this, Moses goes to speak to Joshua. He repeats to Joshua what the Lord said, "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (verse 8).
This word is shed throughout the Bible. And the idea of the Lord always being with us, and guiding us, is told two times within one short passage.
If you read the verse out of context, you will learn feel a sense of pride, comfort and healing. That of which the Lord wanted Joshua to feel - and wants us to feel. When I say comfort, understand that I do not mean to settle or get comfortable with where we are - because the Lord has called us to do His work and reach out in new ways. But He reminds us constantly that we are never alone.
That even in our absolute darkest moments - he will not leave nor forsake you. That is just so powerful. It is heartfelt. We as humans do not have the capacity to fully understand His love for us. We still question it. We still struggle and sin. We still turn the other direction when He is tugging on our hearts to see Him. Through all of this, our Lord is by our side. He wants you. He has called you. He knows you.
Do not be afraid of the world or the devil. Be fearful of the Lord for He is the mighty God - savior and protector of us. Nobody, absolutely nobody, can lay hands on a child of the Lord and win. There is no such thing, because He won't leave us.
Wow.
It is just powerful.
This is my life verse. This is the verse I pray every night before I go to sleep, and every morning when I wake up. It is my reminder to keep going. To not give up, and to not let the world win. It is my reminder that the Lord is so much greater than me, than those I am surrounded by and than the things that tempt me. I stand strong. I stand for my Lord because He will never leave me.
My life verse. Forever tattooed on my heart by the one who gave His life for me.
