July 18 Devotion: For, Not With

For, Not With

Deuteronomy 1:30

The LORD your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;

I would say that something that applies to a lot of us is that we’d rather do something for ourselves rather than let someone else do it for us. Think of Moses addressing the Israelites here. He reminds them of what God had done for them in the past. This offers profound assurance of God’s faithfulness and protection. He also reminds them of God’s unwavering presence and power when he assures them that the LORD will go before them and fight for them.

The phrase “goeth before you” applies to us just the same. We have no idea what tomorrow holds, but God does. We don’t know what’s around each corner, but God does. That phrase should remind us that nothing that comes our way catches God by surprise.

Now think of the phrase “he shall fight for you”. It doesn’t say alongside us! When we face those things that we didn’t see coming, it’s best for us to just turn it over to God and allow Him to fight for us at times. All too often, we think we know best and want to try our hand in each and every situation that arises in our lives. We always seem to want to fix it ourselves before allowing God to do a work. It can save us a lot of heartache and worry sometimes when we realize we don’t have all the answers and turn it over to God at the start.

This dual assurance—guidance and protection—encourages us to trust in God’s sovereignty. God knows the battles we face, both internal and external. Trust that not only does He know best, but He can handle those battles as well.

God bless,

Bro. Josh Richardson