Daily Manna · Day 131 · May 11
He Goes Before
“And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.”
Tomorrow may hold something you cannot see clearly yet: a first day somewhere new, a medical scan, or a conversation you have practised a dozen times and still dread.
There was a hard moment behind today's verse. Moses is a hundred and twenty years old, and he tells all Israel that the LORD has said to him, "Thou shalt not go over this Jordan." Joshua, the younger man, will have to lead the people in.
Moses does not pretend the land will be easy. He had already told the people plainly that they would face "nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven." So when he speaks to Joshua, he does not promise small cities or weak enemies.
First Moses tells the whole nation that the LORD will go with them. Then he calls Joshua and speaks to him "in the sight of all Israel," and he does that on purpose. The promise is made in public, so nobody can quietly shrink it later on a bad night. He says: "And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed."
Joshua is not promised an easy country; Canaan was full of armies, and he would fight many battles there. He is promised the order of arrival: the LORD goes in first. The danger is just as real as it was before, but Joshua will not walk into it alone.
So here is a blessing over you, built from their words. May the LORD go before you into the room you are dreading. May He be there when you walk in and still there when you leave, and may He never fail you or forsake you. Do not be afraid, and do not be discouraged, because He has already gone ahead of you.
Daily Manna runs on a two-year cycle. The year two reading for day 131 is No Daysman (Job 9:33).