“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
Moses spoke these words as he was passing the proverbial baton of leading the Israelites to Joshua, Israel’s next leader. He charged him to not be afraid because the Lord goes before him and beside him. When we read this, it makes a lot of since: Joshua was probably scared out of his mind at the thought of leading hundreds of thousands of people into a promised land currently inhabited by another people. It was a huge and impossible task. But even before they could inhabit the entire promised land of Canaan, they had to conquer the city of Jericho. In the grand scheme of things it was small potatoes, but at the time it felt huge and also impossible. They had to somehow beat a large and powerful city with giant walls surrounding it.
But the LORD would go before them.
So much of our lives are made up of these big and small battles, but they all seem massive and overwhelming and nearly impossible. I feel like this has been every moment of my life this past month since publicly announcing that I would be going on the World Race. Not only am I wrapping up research, preparing for my final semester of college, and dealing with more than my fair share of responsibility at work, I’m now fundraising (which fits into its own special category of stress). But the Lord, ever faithful and gracious to me and my anxious heart, reminded me of this verse and the story of Joshua leading the Israelites.
As Christians, I don’t think we forget this idea that the “Lord goes before us,” because it seems really nice and encouraging. But we forget the gravity of it and that it doesn’t just apply to the big battles; it goes for the small ones too. When I started college, He went before me as I embarked on the big battle of getting a 4 year degree and He was just as faithful and present when I struggled with the small battles: terrifying organic chemistry assignments or frustrating and unreasonable expectations from professors. As I prepare to go live in different countries for 3 months away from the culture I’m familiar with, He’ll go before me as I board the plane to leave, but also now with His same strength and peace as I struggle with the seemingly overwhelming task of mailing support letters.
Our faithful Father goes before all of us, in our big and small battles; those that cause anxiety and those that cause peace. And I know that He’ll bring me through them all because, spoiler alert: the Israelites conquered Jericho and inhabited the promised land, just as God had promised. And we serve a God that always delivers.
Thank you to all of you who have supported me through kind words, being interested in my trip, through prayers, and/or through donating. In 1 short month, I’m already 40% funded. God is SO good, and you guys are so kind and faithful to the calling God has placed in your lives to partner with me in this way.
Right now, I would greatly appreciate prayers for starting my last semester of school – September is going to be insanely busy – as well as for me and my team, because all of us are experiencing the highs and lows of fundraising.
Much love,
Bailey
