The God Who Fights for Us - Deuteronomy 1:29-31 In-Depth Scripture Breakdown

"Then I said to you, 'Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.'" - Deuteronomy 1:29-31

Man. As I was going through my Bible study, I started reading through Deuteronomy, and I came across these verses. It struck me right in my heart, because wow. I've read them before, but reading it in the current situations I'm facing, it hits differently.

Do not be afraid. Our God will fight for you. You've seen how He's come through for you before, and He will do it again. He will carry you.

Every day is a fight. A fight between good and evil, heaven and hell. A battle for our attention, our surrender, our love. It's a constant war, sometimes one that's all too evident to us, and sometimes one we can't see or even forget that it's there. But these verses are a cry of hope, a light, and a reason for joy. Even in the struggles and the battles we face every day, big or small, our God is fighting for us. He is on our side, and He will carry us through.

Each and every one of us are facing our own sets of struggles right now. Each and every one of us are facing our own battle, fighting our own wars, and in each and every one of those places, the Lord is fighting on our behalf. He is right beside us, carrying us through the hard things life throws at us. And He reminds us that we don't have to be afraid, because He's right there. He'll take care of us.

Today, I want to walk with you through these few verses. I want to dive deeper into what these verses are saying, but not for head knowledge. I want to dive deeper into these verses for my heart to experience and believe these truths found in Deuteronomy 1:29-31. And I want to do this to open your eyes a little bit more to the God we serve.

"Then I said to you"

In these verses, God is talking directly to the Israelites, and He's talking directly to you, too. He's not an abstract god, somewhere out in the universe who doesn't pay any attention to us here on Earth. No, He is a personal, intimate God who loves to commune with us. He loves to have fellowship with us, and He speaks directly to us.

"Do not be terrified; do not be afraid because of them"

So many times in the Bible, God tells us not to be afraid (about 365 times, actually). Why? Because there's not a reason to be afraid. God wouldn't lie to us and tell us not to worry if there was genuinely something we needed to worry about. But when we look at this with eyes fixated on Jesus, we see that He has it all under control. That doesn't mean that nothing bad will happen, because Jesus Himself reminded us that bad will happen, but it does mean that when we are right with God and walking with Him, that's all that matters. He'll take care of the rest. And if the worst case scenario on this Earth does come true, that's okay, because Christ will be on our side every step of the way, and one day we can fully experience His presence in Heaven.

"The Lord your God"

When we worry, we often try to soothe our anxieties with logic. We try to give ourselves insurance just in case the if the worst case situation does happen. I complete extra credit to give me a buffer just in case I get a bad grade on my test, so my overall grade doesn't plummet. My dad locks the doors every night just in case someone would try to break in, so that hopefully the locks would protect us from the outside scary people. Those things aren't bad, but these verses are telling us that we don't have to be afraid because of God. Not because of anything we've done to protect ourselves, but because the Lord is on our side. It's because of Jesus that we don't have to be afraid.

"Who is going before you"

When I would begin a new grade in school, I was always so nervous. I'm the oldest, so there hasn't been anyone to lead the way for me and be the example of what will happen as the new school year rolls around. I never had any clue what was going to happen that year, and sometimes, it was scary. But that's not the way with God. As He leads us into new places, He goes before us. He prepares the way. He doesn't just throw us into these new seasons and new adventures for us to fend for ourselves. No, He guides us and goes ahead of us so that we don't have to be afraid. The God of the universe knows where you're going, and He's prepared it for you. He will protect you and walk with you as you enter into this new place.

"Will fight for you"

Our God is active in the day to day battles we face. He is on the front lines, fighting on our behalf. We aren't fighting this thing alone. The Hebrew word for "fight" here is lacham, which means "devour". The Lord has committed to be in battle with you, but not only that, but He declares that He will devour your enemy. You know what I find interesting about the word "devoured"? That word has such a passionate ring to it, and it means to destroy completely. God will completely destroy our enemies. And is that not what He did on the cross? On the cross, Jesus bore our sins and every struggle we would face on this earth. He carried it, and when He died and rose again, He defeated and devoured anything that would stand against us. Christ completely destroyed Satan and all tribulations, not so that life would be easy, but so that we would know who won the battle in the end.

"As he did in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. There you saw"

God has done this before. All the things He's promising you, He's done them before. And you've experienced it first hand. This isn't a crazy rumor that's floating around, or some misinterpreted story that got mixed up every time it was retold. No, this is your experience and your history. You can trust that God is going to take care of you because He's done it for you before. And He's come through for you in the wilderness. When nothing else can sustain you or heal you or free you, that's when we see God step in and really display who He is and what He does.

"How the Lord your God carried you"

The Hebrew word for "carried" here is nasa or nasah, which means lifted. And "lifted" means to uplift, boost, or even lighten. You have experienced how God has uplifted you, how He's helped you up and held you, and how He's lightened your load. You've experienced this help from the Father, when you've needed it the most, and He's reminding you of that right now. As you remember what He's already done for you, let that help you trust that He will come through for you again.

"As a father carries his son"

"As a father carries his son." Wow. Does anyone else feel the intimacy, the closeness in that? I remember how secure I felt as a little girl when I was in my Dad's arms, and how safe and comforted and close I felt. I remember what it felt like when he would carry my tired little body to bed after a long day out. Do you? Our Heavenly Father carries us out of love. He carries us when we don't have the strength to hold ourselves up.

"All the way until you reached this place."

He hasn't carried you a short way. He's carried you all the way, up until this point. Even when we didn't know it or we didn't recognize that we needed it, God has carried us. He's brought us to where we are now, and here again, He is promising to carry you, provide for you, and fight on your behalf.

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Oh my lanta. As I'm pausing long enough to reflect on what these verses really mean, I'm in absolute awe of our God. Can you see the love in His eyes as He speaks these words to us? Can you tell how intimately He wants to know us, and how passionately He promises to fight for us? It is my prayer that in these verses, and through my words, you are able to see more clearly the God we serve and the God who promises to protect and fight on your behalf.

Please let me know in the comments what the most powerful part of these verses were to you, and if there was anything more you felt the Lord speak to you about. And, don't forget to drop any prayer requests down in the comments below as well so that I can pray with you!