Sometimes we experience seasons of doubt and unbelief when God doesn’t move in the way we were hoping for or in the timing we thought He would. Sometimes there are unexpected, outside circumstances that we encounter that lead us on a different road than what we were thinking or planning for our life. Though we want to believe that God’s plans are good and always prevail, it can become easy to question and doubt if He really meant everything that He’s said to us.
Scripture is full of verses to help us cling to the truth of who God is and the purity of His goodness. When we reset our focus on the Lord, we can be sure to discover Him from an entirely new perspective that points to Him as the cornerstone of faith and life.
Hebrews 13:5: I will never leave you, nor forsake you.
Sometimes in the midst of trying to trust the Lord it can be easy to ask, “Where are you?” Doubt is a natural part of our humanity. Part of trusting the Lord is knowing that He is with you. He never has, and never will, abandon you.
Hebrews 13:5 is derived from the text in the Old Testament when Moses has just heard from the Lord and is about to hand over his mantle to Joshua so he can lead the Jewish people into the Promised Land.
Deuteronomy 31:7-8 reads:
“Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, ‘Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you will enable them to inherit it. The LORD, He goes before you. He will be with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. Do not fear, nor be dismayed.”
What an absolutely inspiring and encouraging word coming from Moses! This was a new generation of Israelites who would finally step into the promise that God had for His chosen people.
However, stepping into the promise that the Lord has for you requires trust. It requires trusting that He will be with you throughout the entire process and that He won’t let go. Just as He promised to be with Joshua, it requires trusting that He will be with you.
Philippians 1:6: “I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
God can be trusted because He does not quit on us. If He has started something, He will bring it into completion. If the God of all creation says that He will perfect something, then why doubt that?
You see, even once Moses had passed away, God did not give up His dreams for the Jewish people. Instead, He continued on what He had started with Moses through Joshua.
“Moses My servant is dead, so now get up and cross over the Jordan—you and all this people—to the land that I am giving to the children of Israel. I have given you every place that the sole of your foot shall tread, as I said to Moses” (Josh. 1:1-3).
Scripture reassures us over and over again that what He has promised will come to pass. God does not break His covenants and He never diminishes or dismisses the things that He has already ordained for our lives. God does and will finish every single thing He starts.
Hebrews 13:8: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.
Not only does God promise to be with us and to complete His work through us, but He also promises to be the same God today and forever as He always was. He is the Rock, the Cornerstone on which we can build our lives upon. If we can trust God to be the Alpha and the Omega, then shouldn’t we also trust Him to be the Lord over every aspect of our lives?
God showed His consistency with Joshua, proving that He was the same God who had led Moses through the wilderness. He told Joshua that He would honor him in the sight of Israel, and that he could command the priests to stand still the Jordan river (Josh. 3:7-8). Just as God guided Moses, He now would guide Joshua and meet all of his needs.
Psalm 27:14 in the Amplified Bible reads: “Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.”
Sometimes the only way to overcome the fears that plague us is to decide that we will trust the Lord no matter what. Sometimes, just being still and knowing that He is capable of doing more than everything we ever could have hoped for or imagined is more than enough.
It was in Joshua 3:17 where we learn that all the Israelites were able to cross over the Jordan on solid ground. They could expect that God would show His kindness and His mercy to them again, just as He had in the past. Just as the Lord showed kindness and compassion on His people back then, He will do the same for you and I in our day and age.