He will not leave you or forsake you. – Deuteronomy 31:6
A survey conducted by Cigna in 2018 revealed that nearly half of adults in America report that they feel alone sometimes or always. The percentage goes up drastically among the senior population. Decreases in mobility, age-related conditions like hearing loss and eye diseases, when added to the loss of friends or loved ones by death or moving away, often results in the decline of physical and mental health. According to a University of California, San Francisco, study, loneliness is a risk factor for heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, alcoholism, drug abuse, depression, and suicide. The antidote to loneliness is companionship. That is one reason many seniors move into assisted living or skilled nursing facilities.
If rendered in a direct translation from the Greek, the familiar verse of Hebrews 13:5, has five negatives: ”No! Not you, Will I leave, nor, No!, not you, will I forsake.” What an assurance from your God! Just as God gave His promise to Joshua in today’s key verse, you can be certain of God’s provision and of His love. He will not leave you. He will be the companion of your soul.
As revealed in today’s verse, across Joshua’s lifetime, He had seen God at work, doing impossible things, and was now going to go ahead of him into the land of promise. In the same way, recall for yourself the times that God has shown up mightily in your own life. Even at times when your faith might have wavered His tender mercies abounded to you. But you must believe it. If you have trusted Him, your future has no uncertainty in it. You may face person-to-person lonely times. When you do, pick up your Bible. Meditate on the Psalms or other favorites. Trust in His power to overcome even the deepest harsh feelings of your soul; then praise Him for loving you.
Intercede today for the nation’s leaders who experience loneliness even among the crowd of fellow workers to find the true companionship of Jesus Christ.
Today’s Verse: Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: Deuteronomy 31:1-8
So Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them, “I am 120 years old today. I am no longer able to go out and come in. The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’ 3 The Lord your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, so that you shall dispossess them, and Joshua will go over at your head, as the Lord has spoken. 4 And the Lord will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. 5 And the Lord will give them over to you, and you shall do to them according to the whole commandment that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “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. 8 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.”
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
