“Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them; for the Lord thy God He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” Deut. 31:6
Today’s Christian daily devotional
“Are you excited to meet all your new friends?” My mother bent down to straighten my new pink socks, smothering me with kisses on her way back up.
“No!” I stomped my foot, terrified. Crossing my arms and staring straight ahead, I defied her from coming back for more of those kisses. I refused to go down without a fight.
“Julia. You are going to have new friends at school. You’ll get to see them everyday; it won’t be like the park.” My mother turned her back to finish packing my lunch, giving me space.
The park was where all the neighborhood kids would gather to play. But, it was a gamble on who would be there on any given day. When the weather was nice, my mom, brother and I would circle around that section of town and check the swings. If we were the only people there that day, we never stayed for very long.
I wanted some new friends. But, the prospect of school was both exciting and scary at the same time.
My mother tapped me on the shoulder smiling tenderly as she held out my plastic My Little Pony lunchbox. This made me feel slightly better; giving me the confidence to express my true concerns.
“Mom,” my tone was much softer. “Will you come back to get me? I want new friends, but I am afraid you will forget me.”
“Oh, honey. How could I forget my precious Julia?” She opened her arms and flipped her wrists, motioning me to give her a bear hug. Tears gathered at the corner of her eyes.
I was a big girl, but not too big for my mommy’s reassuring hug. It gave me the strength I needed to climb bravely into the car.
After the rainy drive across town, my mother walked me to the front of the building. There I saw other kids with fresh backpacks and new clothes spilling into the big red doors of the place my mother had been talking about for weeks. The big day had finally arrived…I was really here.
Feeling the patter of my heart skipping a few beats, I tucked my body under the safehaven of my mother’s arm, gripping her fingers tightly.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a freckled faced blonde with the exact same My Little Pony lunchbox as me. My heart was wild with excited anticipation. Who was this stranger that had such a fabulous sense of style? My curiosity compelled me to leave the shelter of my mother’s underarm and move a bit closer towards the girl with sunshine for hair.
“I like your sparkly barette.” I boldly reached out to touch her golden hair. She smiled and tilted her head towards me to make it easier.
By the time my mother came to pick me up, I was so absorbed in trading stickers with my new best friend that I had forgotten about her.
In Deuteronomy 3:16, we see God Himself reassuring the Israelites not be afraid of the unknown. He promised them that He would not leave or fail them.
Although we cannot see or feel the presence of God all the time, we know that if an earthly parent has the sense to remember to pick up their child from kindergarten, God also will not forget to pick up and assist His children.
The problem usually lies when we, as God’s children, forget and abandon God and His ways. He has never left us, but we have wandered into a realm where we stall our own salvation. God is the only one who can save us and this will happen as soon as we allow Him to.
“Dear Heavenly Father,
I have often wondered whether you were a good God or not. So many people make me question it, by reminding me of the evil in the world.
Lord, I see that this world is evil because men love to sin and get away with it. When the effects of sin start to be felt, they curse the God they feel should have prevented their pain. Lord, pain is a good sign. It means there is something wrong and therefore it gives us an opportunity to stop what we are doing and to make things right.
Lord, I have been living in fear—afraid to go forward and make a strong impact for you because I don’t want to loose the respect from others that has become so important to me.
I need to change, and although it may look like I am standing alone, I must stand for you. I know you will be there with me and that will give me the confidence to keep moving forward.
I have left you in the past for other things; but I realize that nothing compares to the comforting arms of my heavenly Father who loves me more than I can comprehend.
In Jesus’ name, give me the boldness that I need to go and tell the world how great it is to be a part of the family of God, and let me find more siblings for you. Amen.”
Thank you for reading today’s Christian daily devotional on verses: Deuteronomy 31:6
Please check back and see what we have for you tomorrow!
Author: Julia Shalom Jordan