One More Reason to Praise God
He Goes Ahead of You
And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you.
He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed.
(Deuteronomy 31:8) (NASB)
The only thing we can be truly certain of in life on earth is that life is uncertain. This is true in every arena of life - home, work, our relationships with others, church life, competitors in business, school, etc. We make plans that may or may not succeed, no matter how well thought out. We work to make an acceptable grade in a class, and learn that our efforts were not as solid as we originally had hoped. You put all that hard work in your business and things didn't go as planned. What do you do when you really don't know what to do? What do you say in prayer when the words won't come? When you can't say or do anything else, speaking God's Word is always in order.
Moses was encouraging Joshua in this passage to finish the work that Moses started. Moses was old now, and unable to go forward. And further, God had already informed him that he would not cross the Jordan. That would now be Joshua's job. When we chose to life a life of praise and worship to our God, we placed ourselves on the front line of a fierce spiritual battle. In other words, just as soldiers in a physical battle are often wounded, the same concept applies in the spiritual battle. There are darts, and bullets, and scud missles that fly all around us. The conflict is ever present; but for those who love the Lord and serve Him with a surrendered heart, we have help available. And for those who have not yet chosen to live for Him, that same help is available to you when you receive Him into your heart.
Isn't it wonderful to know that God goes before us? God is already in the "not yet". We cannot see where He can see, except through the eyes of faith. We don't have the insight, the forethought, or the panoramic perspective that our God has. He is saving us from so much because He goes before us. He is preparing the way. We don't have to fear or be troubled because He said He would never fail us or forsake us. We are never alone. God said He would be with us! To me that's good news when I'm wondering what's going to happen next; when life's certain uncertainties seem to grip me so, that I want to give up. Then I remember that God has gone before me. He's preparing me, and He's preparing you, too. God has gone before you - move forward.
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This is the debut album by EXW friend Paul Langford. Paul is a Chicago based singer, arranger, keyboardist, producer and conductor. Paul has a career that spans 14 years. Paul's work includes arranging for groups like GLAD, Voices of Liberty, VoiceTrek, The Chicago based "Caroling Party" and Day of Discovery Singers. His arranging has appeared on recordings side by side with greats like Gene Puerling and David Maddux, and he has sung with Don Shelton, Bonnie Herman and Bob Bowker, among others.