By John Hames
"And He said certainly I will be with thee" (Exod. 3:21).
The above is the promise God made Moses when sending him to Egypt to lead out the children of Israel. This no doubt served as a great stay and staff for him in all of his after years.
We have all likely learned the value of a special divine promise. The promises are all valuable, but what I mean by a special promise is one that comes to us under peculiar circumstances, similar to the following. We are getting ready to take a long trip, say to California, and before going to the railroad station, kneel in silent prayer to ask God for His direction and protection. On arising and opening the Bible our eyes fall upon the following promise: "I will not fail thee nor forsake thee" (Joshua 1:5). On the other hand, we may be undergoing persecution, and are beset by foes on every side, when these soul-reviving words fall upon our ears.
"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." (Isaiah 41:10) When receiving such promises, at these times and places, we grasp them and stand more firmly upon them than we do the ordinary promises.
Now let the convert on starting out in the Christian warfare accept the promise, "Certainly I will be with thee," for his stay and staff, all the way to heaven. No matter how dark the way may sometimes become, or how the winds of hell may blow, or the raging foe persecute.
Let us briefly grind up the word certainly and see what it contains. It contains the following: "Positively I will be with thee," "Without doubt or question I will be with thee," "Without failure I will be with thee." Reader, there are no grounds here for doubt or dismay.
Let us next see how much it will mean for God to be with you.
1. The first thing implied is that you have a sleepless guard with you to protect you by day and by night. Notice what David said about Him, "He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepeth thee will not slumber." "The sun shall not smite thee by day nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee" (Psa. 121:2, 6, 7).
2. God will also be a refuge from the many storms and head winds which you will meet on your homeward march. What the caves, rocks and sand pits are to the weary traveler on the eastern deserts God has promised to be to His people. Isaiah, looking down the line of time through his prophetic telescope, got a glimpse of Jesus and what He would be to the human family, and broke out in the following language: "And a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place; as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land" (Isa. 32:2).
3. The next thing implied in God being with you means that you do not have to keep yourself or live the life in your own strength, but He promises to be your upholder. Listen to His precious words, "I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness" (Isa. 41:10). "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him" (Isa. 59:19).
4. A fourth thing implied in God being with you is this: He is your Counselor and Guide. Oh, how difficult it would be to keep out of Satan's by-paths and pitfalls, stationed along the way, without this unerring guide! We are thankful, however, for the following promises: "I will instruct thee, and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye" (Psa. 32:8). "Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13).
5. Still another thing included in God being with you is, He is an exhaustless supply. The Israelites, while traveling through the wilderness, did not have to send here or there for supplies, but God wag all they needed. Paul said, "But my God shall supply all your needs, according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:19).
6. A final thing implied in the promise is that you have in your midst the Great Physician, who is equal for every malady that the devil may inflict upon you. Long ago He made the following statement and it holds good today: "For I am the Lord that healeth thee" (Exod. 15:26). "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases" (Psa. 103:2, 3).
Reader, let us go forward in the power and strength of Jehovah, fearing nothing but sin.
