“Ye shall not fear them: for the LORD your God He shall fight for you” (Deuteronomy 3:22).

As the people of Israel stood on the banks of the Jordan River facing the Promised Land, they were also facing some difficult times. Ahead of them were well-established kingdoms, fortified cities, and even giants in the land. Their enemies were experienced warriors, while the Israelites, recently freed from slavery, were not. From a human perspective, they had every reason to fear, but Moses taught differently. He claimed that God would fight for them; there was no need for fear. Indeed, there was plenty of evidence of this in Israel’s exodus from slavery in Egypt, their victories over enemies along the way, and God’s providence for them in the wilderness.

Abraham Lincoln was once asked if he felt that God was on his side, to which he responded that it had never occurred to him to ask, but he constantly asked himself if he was on God’s side.

And that is the key! If we are on God’s side, He will fight for us. He will not fight for us if we are involved in an improper cause. We must be about the carrying out of His will. If we know we are on His side, we have every right to expect Him to fight for us, and no right at all to be afraid.

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord” (II Timothy 1:7,8). “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15).

Our lives and efforts should be a constant testimony “that all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever” (Joshua 4:24). JDM