Have you ever wondered how God can put so much information in one single verse?! This morning I was journaling and praying, while I focused on the verse below This verse says SO MUCH!!!!!! Check it out!
~~DEUTERONOMY 31:6~~
“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.”
To fully comprehend what a verse is saying, I often break it down into manageable sections. This verse lent itself easily to that. I saw, “Do’s”, “Don’t’s”, “Why” and “How”. Ok, here we go!
The “DO’s”
BE STRONG
The Hebrew word for strong <chazaq> means to make strong or firm, to confirm, to strengthen. Out of those definitions, “confirm” didn’t seem to fit, so I looked it up in the dictionary.
(DIC) “confirm”: to cause (someone) to believe (something) more strongly: to give new assurance of the validity of: remove doubt about by authoritative act or indisputable fact.
How do you confirm something? You take action to prove the claims about it. This immediately brought to mind, “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). Our part, to taste and see; God’s part, to show His intrinsic faithfulness. Doubt is removed through our intimate experience with God.
The phrase “Be strong!” is in the imperative; it’s a command. Think about Ephesians 6:10 where we are commanded, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power”. This isn’t a command for us to “do” something in this verse, but rather it’s a command to do nothing but lean into God’s strength and to allow His strength to work in and through us. The level of strength we realize is totally dependent on how heavily we are “leaning into” God for help.
So “be strong” is a command, yet at the same time, it is a CHOICE. Our part, step out and stand in faith that God is telling the truth; God’s part, reveal to us how faithful and true He is! Step out in faith, lean into God, and see the validity of the claims He makes about Himself.
BE COURAGEOUS
The Hebrew word for courageous <’amats> means to be alert, firm and strong; to be of an undaunted mind.
(DIC) undaunted: not afraid to continue doing or trying to do something, even though there are problems, dangers, etc.; courageously resolute in the face of danger.
This SCREAMS “walk by faith, not by sight!” to me. We have to carry on through our lives on the basis of the UNSEEN versus on the basis of what our senses can experience or are experiencing.
Remember in 2 Kings 6, the story of Elisha’s servant freaking out because overnight the city had been surrounded by horses and chariots? And remember Elisha’s response to the situation? Verses 16-17 say “Don’t be afraid…Those who are with us are more than those who are with them…And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
We are often faced with situations that seem unconquerable and overwhelming. Those feelings can’t be where we choose to sit. We need to pray continually that God helps us filter the “seen” situations that we encounter through the “unseen” resources God has placed in us and all around us! “And GOD is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8)
The “DON’Ts”
DON’T BE AFRAID
The Hebrew word for afraid <yare’> means dread, affright. (I don’t know about you, but I have a habit of assuming I know what words mean, only to look them up and find that I didn’t really have a clue. LOL.)
(DIC) dread: to fear something that will or might happen; to feel extreme reluctance to meet or face something.
Notice that this is a feeling stemming from something that may never happen. It’s mere emotion based on speculation.
Dread lives in the land of “what if”.
(DIC) affright: to behold a ghastly sight and feel fear or alarm.
Notice that this is a feeling rooted in something your senses have “seen” or experienced.
Affright lives in the land of “oh my!”
But remember that we aren’t to focus on the seen, but rather on the unseen. Hebrews 11:1 says, “…faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
Stay out of the land of “what if?” and “oh my!”
DON’T BE TERRIFIED
The Hebrew word for terrified <’arats> means to physically tremble in fear.
Notice how God covered all the bases in the two “Don’t’s”: emotional and physical. Don’t be afraid (emotional response to a “what if?”), and don’t be terrified (a physical response to emotional stress caused by something we see–”oh my!”).
Ok. Now that we have covered the “Do’s” and the “Don’t’s”, let’s look at the wonderful “Why’s” that God provides us.
The “WHY”
GOD GOES WITH YOU
I remember when I was a little girl; the basement was a scary place. There was not a lot of natural light down there, so when my mom sent me down there to get something, I experienced both “afraid” and “terrified”. I mean, there were a lot of places down there for “boogie men” to hide. Haha. But you know what? My Dad was very sensitive to my fear, and often He would say, “Do you want me to go with you?” My immediate response was a big smile, followed by a “yes!”. Because my Dad was going with me, I had no reason to be afraid and terrified. Our heavenly Father goes with us through the “what if’s” and “oh my’s!” of life. That’s one of the “why’s” He gives us not to be afraid and terrified.
The “HOW”
HE WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU OR FORSAKE YOU
The Hebrew word for leave <raphah> means to leave off anything, like a work begun.
Wow! Wow!! WOW!!!!!!! Philippians 1:6 tells us that we can be confident that “He who began a good work in you WILL CARRY IT ON TO COMPLETION until the day of Christ.”
How’s that for a “How”?! God will never leave us unfinished, undone, half-baked! He began a good work in us when we accepted Christ and He is using all the things that happen in and around us to mold us into the image of His Son.
God ALWAYS finishes what He starts!
The Hebrew word for forsake <asab> means to leave or desert. Think about that.
Jesus may have left this world physically when He ascended to sit at the right hand of God, but He didn’t leave us alone and comfortless. He sent His precious Holy Spirit to indwell each believer.
“Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid or terrified…
for the Lord your God goes with you.
He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Phew, that was a lot of truth to uncover in one verse. But thank You Abba for meeting me here and teaching me ways I need to change in order to act and react in a way that aligns with Your Truth. Ok…time to let this marinate in my spirit.