29 “So I said to you: Don’t be terrified or afraid of them! 30 The Lord your God who goes before you will fight for you, … Deuteronomy 1:29-30
In this passage, Moses is recounting a terrible failure of God’s people. God was working to bring about the fulfillment of a promise he made to Abraham that his descendants would possess the land God had shown him. God has already proven himself to them while bringing them out of Egypt and through the wilderness. The people were standing at the border’s edge, ready to cross into the Promised Land.
God told Moses to send explorers into the land to get an idea of what was awaiting them. For the most part, the report was good. It was indeed a rich land, with good soil and filled with magnificent crops. But ten of the twelve explorers were convinced the people were too big and the cities too strong for them to defeat. Based on their negative report, the people rebelled against what God willed for them and became afraid and defeated. They let their fear rule the day rather than the proven power and will of God. Moses pled with them, “Don’t be terrified or afraid! The Lord Your God who goes before you will fight for you.” But they would not trust God and for forty years they wandered in the wilderness because of it. And God continued to love and care for them.
We don’t have to imagine being in similar situations in life and responding in much the same way as those Israelites. Much like these people, you are able to look back over times in your life and can clearly see how God was leading you and sustaining you so you could get through to the other side of whatever it was. You clearly know that you couldn’t have survived the strain of the entire ordeal if it were not for the faithful, loving God of your salvation there fighting your battles. You may have been fearful for a time, but looking back you can see moving forward that with God there is no need to fear anything this world may throw at you.
But then in a moment of great difficulty you forget everything God did in the past. You forget all about his faithful love and care. You may even come to believe that he hates you. (Deut. 1:27). Anxiety sets in. Hopelessness overtakes your thinking. Anger wants to burst out from your pores, so you do your best to be silent. Before you know it, you’re alone and frustrated. Your life feels like a dry, parched land, barely sustaining any semblance of a meaningful life. But remember, God is a fighter; he fights for you.
He has already fought for you. He did that when he sent his Son to defeat sin and death on Calvary’s cross. He promised her would send one to save us and he did. That battle is already won. But like all battlefields, the destruction left by the battle is dangerous and unpredictable. The Enemy, though defeated, is still doing all he can to discredit the Victor and the Victory, hoping you might blame God for the painful realities sin and death leave behind.
Even now, when challenged by the brokenness of life that is around you and in you, God is there fighting for you, battling with the hidden powers and domains, working to bring you peace. Through his Spirit he comforts and reassures you of the already secure victory over what troubles you. In victory, you are his child and heir. He will never leave or forsake you. And he will always fight for you!