I will never leave you nor forsake you.
—Joshua 1:5
“Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). With those three sentences God sealed Joshua’s commission to lead Israel.
The first sentence consists of two positive directives: Be strong and courageous. The second sentence consists of two negative directives: Do not be afraid or discouraged. The third sentence consists of one promise: The Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
The first two sentences hinge on the third. Strength, courage, conquest of fear, and defeat of discouragement come from a single source: certainty of the presence of God.
“The Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” The trick is not to know these words, but to be certain of them?
Wherever you are, so is he.