Deuteronomy 31:1-6: a reflection

1Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2He said to them, “I am one hundred twenty years old today. I can no more go out and come in. The LORD has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’ 3The LORD your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua will go over before you, as the LORD has spoken. 4The LORD will do to them as he did to Sihon and to Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. 5The LORD will deliver them up before you, and you shall do to them according to all the commandment which I have commanded you. 6Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or scared of them, for the LORD your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you.”

As Moses prepares to hand leadership to Joshua, he calls the people to be strong and courageous, grounding their courage not in themselves but in God, who goes with them and will never fail or forsake them. Be strong and courageous, Moses says; don't be afraid or scared of them, for the LORD your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. The people faced a daunting road ahead, and Moses, who had led them, was to leave them. Yet the ground of their courage was not their own strength or Moses's presence, but God himself: the LORD your God goes with you, and will not fail you nor forsake you. Because God goes with them and will never abandon them, they can be strong and courageous. This shows the call to courage grounded in God's presence, who will never fail or forsake us. Be strong and courageous, for God goes with you and will not fail you. Your courage rests on God's presence, not your own strength. God will never fail you nor forsake you. Because God goes with you, you can face what is ahead without fear.

Notice where Moses grounds the people's courage. They faced a daunting task: to go into the land, facing nations and battles, and to do it without Moses, who had led them so long and was now to leave them. There was much to fear. Yet Moses calls them to be strong and courageous, and grounds that courage not in their own strength, nor in his continued presence, but in God: the LORD your God himself goes with you; he will not fail you nor forsake you. Their courage was to rest on God's presence and faithfulness, on the promise that he would go with them and never abandon them. This is the ground of courage for us too. We face daunting tasks and roads, sometimes without the people or supports we have leaned on; and there is much that could make us afraid. But we are called, like Israel, to be strong and courageous, and the ground of that courage is not our own strength or the supports we lean on, but God himself: he goes with us, and he will not fail us nor forsake us. Because God goes with us and will never abandon us, we can face what is ahead with courage, not because we are strong, but because he is with us. We do well to be strong and courageous, grounding our courage in God's presence and his promise never to fail or forsake us. Be strong and courageous, for God goes with you and will not forsake you. Ground your courage in God's presence, not your own strength. God will never fail you nor forsake you, whatever lies ahead. Because God goes with you, face what is ahead with courage.

That is worth taking to heart, for we can be strong and courageous, grounding our courage in God's presence and his promise never to fail or forsake us, as Moses called the people facing a daunting road. We face daunting tasks and can be afraid, especially without the supports we have leaned on; but Moses grounded courage in God, who goes with us and will not fail or forsake us. God is with you. When what lies ahead makes you afraid, do not ground your courage in your own strength; ground it in God, who goes with you and will never fail or forsake you, and be strong and courageous. Be strong and courageous, grounding your courage not in your own strength but in God's presence and his promise never to fail or forsake you, as when Moses prepared to hand leadership to Joshua he called the people to be strong and courageous, grounding their courage in God, telling them not to be afraid or scared, for the LORD their God himself would go with them and would not fail them nor forsake them; for the people faced a daunting road ahead and Moses who had led them was to leave them, yet the ground of their courage was not their own strength or Moses's presence but God himself, who would go with them and never abandon them, so that because God goes with them and will never forsake them they can be strong and courageous, which is the ground of courage for us too, since we face daunting tasks and roads, sometimes without the people or supports we have leaned on, and there is much that could make us afraid, but we are called like Israel to be strong and courageous, grounding that courage not in our own strength or the supports we lean on but in God himself, who goes with us and will not fail us nor forsake us, so that because God goes with us and will never abandon us we can face what is ahead with courage, not because we are strong but because he is with us, and we do well to be strong and courageous, grounding our courage in God's presence and his promise never to fail or forsake us.

Lord, as Moses prepares to hand leadership to Joshua, he calls the people to be strong and courageous, grounding their courage not in themselves but in you, who go with them and will never fail or forsake them. Be strong and courageous, Moses says; don't be afraid or scared of them, for the LORD your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. The people faced a daunting road ahead, and Moses, who had led them, was to leave them. Yet the ground of their courage was not their own strength or Moses's presence, but you yourself: you go with them, and will not fail them nor forsake them. Because you go with them and will never abandon them, they can be strong and courageous. Show me where Moses grounds the people's courage. They faced a daunting task: to go into the land, facing nations and battles, and to do it without Moses. There was much to fear. Yet Moses calls them to be strong and courageous, and grounds that courage not in their own strength, nor in his continued presence, but in you: you yourself go with them; you will not fail them nor forsake them. Their courage was to rest on your presence and faithfulness. This is the ground of courage for me too. I face daunting tasks and roads, sometimes without the people or supports I have leaned on; and there is much that could make me afraid. But I am called, like Israel, to be strong and courageous, and the ground of that courage is not my own strength or the supports I lean on, but you yourself: you go with me, and you will not fail me nor forsake me. Because you go with me and will never abandon me, I can face what is ahead with courage, not because I am strong, but because you are with me. Take that to my heart. When what lies ahead makes me afraid, keep me from grounding my courage in my own strength; help me ground it in you, Lord, who go with me and will never fail or forsake me, and so be strong and courageous, facing what is ahead because you are with me.