I am with you Always

Deuteronomy 31:6

    So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.

I panic. And every once in a while I get scared. I fear that I'm not using this life the best way possible to bring glory to God. I fear that at times I focus more on me and not on my God.
Which is why I love this verse.

It's a short but packed verse! There's so much reassurance in this verse, lets take it apart.

'Be strong and courageous!'
When I think of strong I most times think of my fiance....at 6'6 he's pretty strong :). Courageous brings to mind the Cowardly Lion ((plug to my favorite movie!)), or crazy people who jump out of air planes...that takes some courage!
But lets think of strong and courageous in a different way. How about the strength that comes from God. Genesis 17:1 (the Message) says 'I am the Strong God, live entirely before me'.
Paul tells us in Ephesians to 'be strong in the Lord and His mighty power' (6:10). Take a minute to think about the strength we get from God...the same God that created the entire universe. His strength brings us courage to bring glory to His name, no matter what. Today it's possible you'll run across a few unbelievers, the strength that we seek from God will give us courage to talk to them about our Savior. Gods strength and courage is more than we'll ever be able to understand...but we have to try as hard daily to seek it.
'Search for the Lord and for His strength; continually seek Him' Psalm 105:6

 'Do not be afraid and do not panic before them'
Satan loves when we panic. He loves when we get upset or when we get frustrated (something I'm really good at). But here's the deal: God hates it.
If you really think about it, what are we panicking over? A test? A job? Is it anything that we wouldn't willingly give up to God to take care of'?
'Then Jesus said "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28
'Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.' 1 Peter 5:7

'For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you'
The best thing about being a Christ follower is that what we're doing right now, and what we'll do tomorrow has already been planned for us. Before we were created God had our life all mapped out. The people we'd meet, the school we'd go to, the job we'd have.
This part of the verse reminds me of that awesome fact.
'For we are Gods masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago' Ephesians 2:10

'He will neither fail you nor abandon you'
In a world where nothing is guaranteed...this is a sure thing. We are guaranteed to have a God that will never leave us, no matter what. We've all had people in our lives that have let us down, some that have even failed us. We have had some really difficult situations to over come...but don't loose faith. Our Mighty God will never leave us!

Marvel in that fact.
God is never going to leave us.
'And be sure of this: I am with you always' Matthew 28:20


Have a wonderful weekend!
Your sister in Christ,
Megan