Joshua 1:5, 9

 

My sales consulting job requires me to travel frequently to all sorts of places in the United States. When I am traveling, I spend lots of time in hotel rooms by myself after visiting with customers throughout the day. For the most part, I have gotten used to being in strange hotel rooms alone since I travel so often. However, every once in awhile, I wake up in the middle of the night, disoriented and fearful of where I am and that no one else is there with me. 

 

Over the weekend I had a different experience. My husband went to Promise Keepers in West Virginia. Since he was gone over the weekend, I spent the time with my two, darling children. On Friday evening, we enjoyed dinner together and watched movies. At bedtime, I tucked them in, sang them songs, prayed with them, and kissed them goodnight. As it neared my own bedtime, I realized that I would be sleeping in the bed that my husband and I normally share together, alone. This was quite a different feeling from my hotel days because with the hotel bed, I expect to be in the bed alone. In my own bed, I am supposed to be sharing it with the man that I love.

 

As I was lying there thinking about all of this, God reminded me of the verses in Joshua above. Joshua was getting ready to take over leadership of the Israelites because Moses had passed away, being buried by God Himself. Joshua was now responsible for leading the Israelites across the Jordan River and into the land of Canaan, taking it for the Lord and His people. During his inauguration as the people’s new leader, God told Joshua three different times to “Be strong and courageous.” Joshua knew that because God was with them there was no need to fear anything or anyone. He would never truly be alone because God promised that He would never leave him.

 

Jesus also had the promise of never being alone. He knew that eventually all of His friends on this earth would desert Him when His end drew near and their own lives were being threatened. John 16:31-32 says, “’You believe at last!’ Jesus answered. ‘But a time is coming, and has now come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.’” Jesus knew that when everyone else ran away in fear, God would never leave Him or forsake Him. God would stick with Him through the end. 

 

Dear friend, God will never leave you or forsake you, either. No matter what is going on in your life right now, God is always with you. He promised! In Matthew 28:20b, Jesus told His disciples, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Other people in your life may have deserted you right now, just like the disciples deserted Jesus. But, Jesus will never run away from you. 

 

Or perhaps, you have been the one to run away because people are not treating you the way that you believe you should be treated. Dear one, Jesus will never leave you alone. He will pursue you until you come running back to Him. Or maybe through all of your circumstances, God has asked you to go somewhere where it appears no one else is going to go with you. God says to be courageous because He will go before us. Trust God with all of your heart that He is with you until the end of time. Remember, you can never be truly alone when God is on your side.