Day 68 - Deuteronomy 31-34 (Who Would You Rather Fight Your Battles, God or Yourself?)
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"Then Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. And he said to them: ...'You shall not cross over this Jordan.' The Lord your God Himself crosses over before you; He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them.... And the Lord will do to them as He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites and their land, when He destroyed them. The Lord will give them over to you, that you may do to them according to every commandment which I have commanded you. Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you." (Deuteronomy 31:1-6)
In contrast to the world's preferred philosophy which takes pride in self-reliance, God utterly abhors the person who does not need Him. On the other hand, the Bible says that God loves the person who completely depends on Him for everything. This is what Moses was trying to tell the Israelites in our text above; He was urging them to completely depend on God to fight their battles. Any other alternative for God's people will lead to disaster.
Moses was very emphatic in urging the people to completely depend on God and reminding them that it was not them who will cross over the Jordan and fight their enemies but it was God who will do it. God will be the one to win the battle for them. All they were to do was to trust Him and not be afraid of their enemies because God will never leave them nor forsake them.
We who are Christians, God's special people of the new covenant through Jesus Christ, are also told by the holy Scripture to live our lives in complete dependence upon God the Holy Spirit Who lives in us. He wants to win all our battles in life no matter how small it may be and He promises to never leave us nor forsake us just as He promised the Israelites: "For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. what can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:5-6)
Saul, who became the apostle Paul, had fought many battles in his life as he wrote in one of his letters: "From the Jews five times I received forty stripesminus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, inperils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, inperils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches." (2 Corinthians 11:24-28) Yet, through all of his intense battles, God never left him nor forsook him but was with him to deliver him and to bring victory even out of those seeming failures.
God promises the same victory for you if you put your trust in Jesus first as Savior and then as Lord of every area of your life, especially in fighting your battles. The alternative, of course, is for you to try to fight your own battles. You may think that you are strong enough because maybe you have experienced victory in some battles through your own strength, but if you haven't yet found out, you will soon discover that you are no match to the all the battles you will face, and unless the Lord fight for you, you will lose the war for your soul.
Moses was very emphatic in urging the people to completely depend on God and reminding them that it was not them who will cross over the Jordan and fight their enemies but it was God who will do it. God will be the one to win the battle for them. All they were to do was to trust Him and not be afraid of their enemies because God will never leave them nor forsake them.
We who are Christians, God's special people of the new covenant through Jesus Christ, are also told by the holy Scripture to live our lives in complete dependence upon God the Holy Spirit Who lives in us. He wants to win all our battles in life no matter how small it may be and He promises to never leave us nor forsake us just as He promised the Israelites: "For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. what can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:5-6)
Saul, who became the apostle Paul, had fought many battles in his life as he wrote in one of his letters: "From the Jews five times I received forty stripesminus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, inperils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, inperils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches." (2 Corinthians 11:24-28) Yet, through all of his intense battles, God never left him nor forsook him but was with him to deliver him and to bring victory even out of those seeming failures.
God promises the same victory for you if you put your trust in Jesus first as Savior and then as Lord of every area of your life, especially in fighting your battles. The alternative, of course, is for you to try to fight your own battles. You may think that you are strong enough because maybe you have experienced victory in some battles through your own strength, but if you haven't yet found out, you will soon discover that you are no match to the all the battles you will face, and unless the Lord fight for you, you will lose the war for your soul.
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