Deuteronomy 31:6

"Be strong and of good courage, do not fear or be in dread of them: for it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you" (Deuteronomy 31:6 RSV).

Comment:

In the year 621 BCE, the kingdom of Judah, the southern kingdom, was Josiah. According to the author of 2 Kings, Josiah did what was good in the eyes of the Lord. (Surprisingly few of the many kings whose reigns are described earn this kind of passing grade.) One of the most important things he did was to perform much-needed repairs to the Temple in Jerusalem. In this process, the workmen found a manuscript that had been lost for some time. When the king read it, he was overcome; he realized that time had corrupted the covenant between the people and their God, and he became passionate about calling the people to a renewed commitment. It is believed that the lost manuscript was, in fact, the Book of Deuteronomy.  

Structured as three farewell addresses from Moses to the Hebrew people just before he leaves them to cross into their Promised Land without him, these discourses essentially review the entire history that has already been described in Exodus, but from a somewhat different, more dispassionate perspective. Chapter 31 begins Moses' very final words.  

He is speaking, he tells the people, on his 120th birthday—the very day, as he makes clear in verse two. One hopes the people had a party, or something—120 years is no small achievement! He reminds them that the Lord has decreed that he—Moses—shall not, himself, lead them across the Jordan into the Promised Land. He is turning the reigns over to Joshua. He tells them not to worry; the Lord will lead them to victory over other tribes across the Jordan just as he has over the 40 years of their journey through the wilderness.

The verse that has attracted your attention comes from that reassurance. "Be strong and of good courage; do not fear or be in dread of them: for it is the Lord your God that goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you." I would want to shorten that a bit for your purposes.  Maybe "Be strong and of good courage; the Lord your God goes with you."  

The only important question is what the words will mean to you each time you see them. To me they seem to be a loving but firm affirmation that we are never alone. We may sometimes feel abandoned by other people and think we are all alone as we face the challenges of life. But as infinite, eternal spiritual beings, we are always One with the Presence of God within, and one with a universal energy of Love that enfolds and embraces all of life.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed