Deuteronomy 1:21 “Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.”
In the waning days of his life, Moses commanded and encouraged the Children of Israel, for they would soon enter Canaan, the Promised Land. There, they would meet with opposition and troubles; thus, “the LORD God” sent them a message, “fear not, neither be discouraged”. Previously, they had twice become “discouraged” and had behaved badly. Early in their wilderness travels, when they faced opposition from the Edomites and endured difficulties in the very rough wilderness country, “the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way” (Numbers 21:4). Then, out of their discouragement, “the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.” (Numbers 21:5). When they “spake against God, and against Moses”, “the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died” (Numbers 21:6). Again, when they had come to the boarder of Canaan, spies were sent into the land. The spies came back and “discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them” (Numbers 32:9); telling them that there were giants in the land and high walled cities that could not be taken. Finally, just before they entered Canaan, Moses encouraged them, telling them “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.” (Deuteronomy 31:8). We, like the Children of Israel, tend to measure our success by our own natural knowledge, wisdom, skill, and strength. But, the Lord’s Church is neither built nor maintained by our own natural knowledge, wisdom, skill, and strength. Furthermore, a godly society or country is not built nor maintained by our own natural knowledge, wisdom, skill, and strength. While God still raises up leaders and empowers them, both the Church and godly Countries are built and maintained by “the LORD” Who “doth go before” us, He is with us every step of the way, He will not fail us, and He will not forsake us. Yes, we do sometimes find ourselves in allegorical austere wildernesses and face to face with overwhelming adversaries; but, as the Lord cared for Israel, He will care for us. No matter how difficult our situation becomes, our “whole duty” is to “Fear God, and keep his commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13) and to “be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as” we “know that” our “labour is not in vain in the Lord” (I Corinthians 15:58). In our day, “there are many adversaries” (I Corinthians 16:9) and “there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers” (Titus 1:10). But, we are Commanded by God to “take unto” ourselves “the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13). Always remember, David declared, “Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:” (Psalms 144:1). Therefore, as we face this awful Virus Issue and this dreadful upheaval in our Country, let us not become “discouraged”, but bravely go forward in our Lord’s service “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2)!