Lord, are you there?

"And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age..."

There are times when we find ourselves in a position of complete darkness. No path to travel, no voice to follow, and no hand to hold. Praise seems pointless and worship doesn't seem to work. There will be times when this darkness, loneliness, weariness, etc... will be a result of your own "self-made distance" between you and God. And then there will be other times when you will be in a period of waiting when you haven't done anything wrong, you are praying, studying, and applying the word of God to your life but you just don't feel God near you. When you find yourself in situations like this (for myself, it is a lot more often than I'd care to admit) it is important to remind yourself of the promises of God.

"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8

The above promise was given to Joshua by Moses before Joshua was summoned to take over the task of leading the people of Israel into the promised land. It's important to note that if you read the entire chapter you will see that Moses was preparing Joshua to stand on his own. It was evident that Joshua was already a leader from the report he and Caleb presented to Moses regarding the promised land; yet from the time they left Egypt until now, Joshua was always able to rely on Moses' leadership. Now, as Moses was nearing the end of his life, he was equipping Joshua with the promises of God so that when the time came for Joshua to stand before the people and guide them in the way that they should go he would understand that it wasn't a burden he had to bear on his own. He could be confident in the fact that Lord had already gone before him and prepared a way. Furthermore, even in times of doubt, confusion, and weariness he could be confident that God was with him. And just like Moses assured Joshua, Jesus assures us in Matthew 28:20 that He is always with us. God recorded this promise more than once in His Holy word many years ago so that when we feel as if we have to stand alone, when we are unsure of which way to go, when we are called to be leaders in the midst of followers, that we too can rest assured that God has gone ahead of us and prepared a way for us. That even if we "feel" distant from God, His promise is greater than our temporary feelings and it is true that He will NEVER leave us or forsake us! He will be with us even to the end of the world.

Today my prayer for you is that you do not fear and that you are not discouraged! Command your soul to bless the Lord, command your heart to worship Him, and command your mind to trust His plan even if you can't hear His voice! The way is prepared. Step forth into your promise! I love you and as always you are in my prayers! For Love, Always!