170. With You Wherever
Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
We have many repeated promises in Scripture that God will be with us always, wherever we are and wherever we go. Jesus is Immanuel, God with us. He sends the Holy Spirit to be with us because He is in us. We pray “Hallowed by Thy name,” which means we are expecting the presence and person of the Holy God to be among us and in us. We pray “The kingdom come,” which means we expect God to rule and reign among us and in us to direct our lives for our good.
The promise of “withness” is truly wonderful and powerful, even awesome when we pause to think about it. It is heaven on earth. It is life among the dead. It is eternal life now and even forever. One Day we will see, hear, feel, and bask in the glorious and brilliant presence of the Almighty and Loving God.
The particular, specific and immediate promise to Joshua is that the Lord God will be with him wherever he goes into battle fighting a Holy War to inhabit the Land (the Kingdom of God). This promise becomes a metaphor for the spiritual promise for all of God’s children as they go into spiritual warfare wherever they go throughout life.
If God is with us, and we do not doubt that, then we may be emotionally and spiritually strong and take heart (be of a good courage) whatever calling lies before us. And we do not need to be afraid nor dismayed. We “Fear not!” because God is with us, although we should be afraid of the evil that evil can do to us. It can and does destroy the body, but not the soul. If fact, by ourselves without God on our side we will most assuredly lose the battle against Sin and Evil, Death and its effects, and Satan and the demons that try to steal, kill and destroy. But with God fighting for us and being with us we are strong to drive Evil away with a word from God. With God, we can be strong and courageous, confident and assured, peaceful and joyful all the time. Goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life, for “Thou art with me.”