DAILY STRENGTH FOR MEN February 8 (day 1) FOUR PROMISES "It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." Deuteronomy 31:8 NRSV Moses has led his people to the edge of the Promised Land, but he will not enter it. God has chosen Joshua to lead the Israelites now. Speaking to Joshua in front of all the people, Moses tells him that God will (1) go before you, (2) be with you, (3) not leave you, and (4) not forsake you. All four promises are important, not just to Joshua but to all the people of Israel. Going before: The inhabitants of the Promised Land do not want company. The Israelites will have to fight entrenched residents and strong walled cities. But God will lead the way, just as he did when they escaped Egypt. Going with: Joshua is a new leader being asked to fill the shoes of a giant - Moses - who has led the Israelite for forty years. Moses has succeeded because God has been with him every step of the way, instructing him and guiding him. Now God will go with Joshua, empowering him to lead and giving him, and his people, success. Not leaving: At the first hint of trouble, the Israelites feared that God has abandoned them. But God has come through every time, and he reminds them that he will always be there for them. Not forsaking: The Israelites have a hard time staying faithful to God. At Mount Sinai, even after God invited the Israelites to be his treasured people forever and showed them his power and glory, they told Aaron to make them new gods because "we do not know what has become of [Moses]" (Exodus 32:1). But even when they are unfaithful, God does not forsake them in return. God will go before you. He will go with you. He will not leave you. He will not forsake you.