Moses' Speach to Joshua

Moses is such a fascinating character. In reading about his life, I often return to the point in Deuteronomy when he offers encouragement to his successor, Joshua.

After their long journey in the desert, the Israelites were on the verge of entering into the Promised Land, and they knew they were in for a vicious fight with the land's current inhabitants. Due to an earlier transgression, God had already informed Moses that he would not enter into the Promised Land. So Moses turns to Joshua and issues this advice, Deuteronomy 31:7-8 (ESV),

Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

Implicit in this advice is that the journey will be difficult. But so long as Joshua doesn't turn from God, he will be taken care of.

In our day-to-day lives, we rarely, if ever, confront challenges of the magnitude faced by Joshua. Nonetheless, the same advice applies: God is with us, so we need not fear.