Be strong and courageous.
Moses' final words to a nation about to enter the unknown — and why 'be strong' isn't a pep talk.
The episode in a glance.
- 01Moses is dying; Israel is about to cross into Canaan without him for the first time.
- 02'Be strong and courageous' is a command, not a suggestion — but it's followed by a promise.
- 03'He will not leave you or forsake you' is the fuel for the courage; strength comes from presence, not willpower.
- 04The same promise is repeated to Joshua, to the church in Hebrews, and to you.
Read along.
Deuteronomy 31:6 — 'Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.' These are Moses' final public words to Israel. He's 120 years old. He's not crossing the Jordan with them. And he's handing leadership to Joshua.
'Be strong and courageous.' It's not a pep talk. It's a command from a dying leader to a people who have every reason to be afraid. They're about to fight for land they've never seen, against enemies they've never faced, without the only leader most of them have ever known.
But notice what comes immediately after: 'for it is the Lord your God who goes with you.' The courage isn't raw willpower. It's grounded in presence. Be strong because he is with you. Be courageous because he won't abandon you.
'He will not leave you or forsake you.' That promise becomes a refrain through the rest of Scripture. Joshua hears it. The writer of Hebrews quotes it to Christians under pressure. It's still being spoken to people facing their own Jordan crossings.
So if you're standing at the edge of something unknown, afraid to move forward — the word to you is the same. Be strong. Be courageous. Not because you have it figured out. Because he goes with you.