Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…
“No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Joshua 1:5 (NIV)
It happened to the best.
Moses had just died, and now Joshua was selected by God to lead the Israelites finishing the journey to the long-awaited Promised Land.
Are you sure Lord? Me? To replace Moses.
No way.
Joshua knew he wasn’t capable. He had seen God present throughout the journey out of Egypt, through the desert and crossing the Red Sea.
But now, well, Joshua wondered if God would still be there to guide and direct him as He had guided and directed Moses.
It happens to the best of the rest of us, too. Wondering at times if God is there.
Didn’t you feel that way the other day?
The unexpected hit, and you felt all alone. Inadequate to do what was needed at that moment. But here you are today.
Funny, how many times on the journey when life hits, we feel that God’s not there. Yet in our quiet moments of reflection before those unexpected moments, we remember all the times He showed up. Always.
But then, well, life hits and things change. And reflection ends.
A relationship pegs a zero on the “will it last” meter. Now what? Any thoughts, God?
You get word that you need to start looking for another job. Now.
Any thoughts, Lord?
The person who hung the moon for you is diagnosed with a terminal illness.
And you wonder aloud—“God, where the heck are you?” What’s going on?
But then we remember that He was there to save and prepare Joseph, son of Jacob, to later save his people after his brothers sold him into slavery.
He was there helping Noah navigate the flood waters to a new day.
David hung on tightly to Him as he hid in caves and ran for his life from King Saul, after Saul learned that God had selected David to replace him as the king.
He was with the Apostle Paul though all of his trials and heartaches, leaving us with thirteen letters in the New Testament written by Paul in his walk with God.
And He was there as His Son hung on the cross for you and for me, and then laid in the tomb, only to be lifted to life by His Father—who was with Him all the time.
God’s always there. In the sunshine, and in the storms. In the triumphs and tragedies.
When everything around you goes silent—He is there.
When the light turns to darkness—He is there.
“Joshua, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
And __ [your name] ___ as He was with Moses, Joshua, Joseph, Noah, David, Paul and His Son, and more, He will be with you. God will never leave you or abandon you.
In our stillness and noise, in our ups and downs, our mountaintops and valleys, daylight and dark nights—He is, and will always be there.
God’s got us.
So just remember to always mark God—Present.
In His Name–Scott
