Deuteronomy 31:8 says, “And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.”
After spending a week sleeping under the stars on a survival trip, it was time to ride our horses up out of the canyon floor and head back to civilization. Dan and I were not experienced riders, so we trusted our guide who rode ahead of us along the steep narrow trail leading out of the wilderness area. At the head of a draw, the trail crossed a washed-out ravine. The only way out was for the horses to jump across the washout. Our guide, Wayne Lawson, told us to let the reins have lots of slack, so the horses could put their noses to the ground. “Let the horse do what he wants.” First Wayne went ahead. The horse sped up and jumped over the broken trail. We did the same and were all three safely on the other side. My heart stopped pounding a little later.
The words in our text were spoken by Moses to Joshua in the presence of all Israel. Moses was transferring the leadership of the Israelites into Joshua’s care. Joshua would be fighting many enemies in the Land of Canaan. Moses promised Joshua that the Lord would go before him.
You and I face trails and trials that are a rough ride. The Lord knows what He is doing. Though our guide was skilled, he had to let go of his reins too, and let the sense God put in the horse’s head lead the way.
Kind David was a mighty warrior slaying his “ten thousands.” In I Samuel 5:18-25, we see why David had such great success. When the Philistines prepared to fight in the valley of Rephaim (Rephaim means giants), David asked the Lord if he should go up and fight them. The Lord told him to go up against them and He would give him victory, which He did. A second time the Philistines came to the same place to fight against David. David asked the Lord again if he should go up against them. This time the Lord said not to go up against them. Instead, David was told to go behind them and wait behind the mulberry trees. God’s plan was an attack from the air with His heavenly army. David was to wait until he heard that army. At that time David was to prepare to move forward as a cleanup ground attack behind God’s air strike.
It always pays to let God go before thee. He never fails. He knows the beginning from the end. The battle is in His hands. As we watch Israel fighting against its enemies round about them, we see miracle after miracle as God has His army overhead protecting them. Though the battle will be sore against them, the day is coming when all the nations of the earth will be gathered against them (because God will continue to draw them), then Jesus Himself will visibly step forth onto the Mount of Olives and destroy the Philistines. (The word Palestine comes from Philistine.)
All this being said, let us think about our individual situations for a moment. God calls us today to “fear not, neither be dismayed.” It is natural to fear when the future of our nation and world is unknown and uncertain. When something like a dock strike goes on the news, many run and buy toilet paper. Our economy is enough to make even the rich dismayed.
Let us look up, friend. Jesus is about done preparing our mansion for us (John 14:20). He led the way from the grave to glory. He jumped the washout. He’s coming soon. Let go, He will go before thee!
