"5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.
6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.
7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it DAY AND NIGHT, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. "DO NOT BE FRIGHTENED", and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your GOD is with you wherever you go."
When I was a child (around 7 or 8 years old), one afternoon there was a storm that "blew up" at our house and it frightened me severely! Being just a child, the storm didn't have to do a tremendous amount to cause me frightened AND dismayed. When things got to bad for my faith, I bolted from our house to my grandparents house about 100 yards away! As I have matured I have come to understand that the GOD of Moses, Abraham, David, and everyone else who loves HIM "will not leave you or forsake you" when the storms of life begin to get rough.
Last night, when the storms were at their worst, I slept soundly through them with no worries! I even awoke for a bathroom visit during the tempest and went right back to sleep upon competing my bathroom visit. Maybe being worn out from traveling this weekend figured into my calmness a bit, but knowing that GOD IS IN CONTROL, no matter the weather report, or stock market report, or doctors report is the most comforting feeling. HE controls the wind (Luke 8:22-25) and HE loves us TOO MUCH to leave us (Joshua 1:5).
When you have been through many storms it becomes easier to trust GOD when the winds and lightning get ferocious! You don't got out looking for a storm, but when a storm appears on your horizon you remember the words "DO NOT BE FRIGHTENED" and proceed! These words are preceded in verse nine by "Be strong and courageous"! It is hard to be courageous when when fear has a grip on you! It is impossible to fear when you realize that the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSES lives inside of you (1 Corinthians 3:16)!
If we really believe that GOD is WHO HE says HE is, why should fear have any place to reside in our lives? For believers "DO NOT BE FRIGHTENED" should be as easy as sleeping was for me last night! HEAVENLY FATHER, I pray that my life will be completely sold out to believing that YOU are WHO YOU say YOU are and that "DO NOT BE FRIGHTENED" will be exhibited in my life for all to see!
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