Publisher’s Point by Rob Patz
Deuteronomy 31:6,8 “Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes before you.” I recently read that scripture and it took me aback for a moment. I read it again. We talk about the Bible being the living word. For some of us, it takes a moment like we are living in to make the Bible come alive. So many people are living in fear or dread and they’re scared of everything that is going on; but it clearly says that God goes before us. Let me ask you a question: Do you think that God has planned every one of your footsteps? I truly believe this. I believe God has gone before me and straightened my path. He has taken care of me. He has watched over me. So, why do I fear? The easy answer would be to say that I’m human, but then that is going to a failsafe answer which isn’t true. Why do we fear? We fear because we feed our mind with all of the things that are happening in the world and it scares us. Those moments when we’re alone, when we turn the TV off and we’re sitting there by ourselves. I’m sure you, like me, have wondered what has happened to the year 2020. Can I be really honest with you? I had some fantastic plans for the year 2020. Notice I said I had plans; I didn’t say they were God’s plans. See, none of this pandemic has taken God by surprise. He knew it was going to happen. It also has made me reflect on my plans. Don’t get me wrong, I believe we should plan. I am a planner. Ask anyone close to me and they will tell you that I plan everything, right down to the grocery list, divided by things I need, things I want, and things I shouldn’t get. I will let you in on a little secret: The things I shouldn’t get are the things that I really want like the donuts and the chocolate cake. I will also let you in on the fact that, that list always seems to get checked off when I go to the grocery store. Back to our point. We shouldn’t fear. God knew what 2020 was going to hold. He knew about the pandemic. He knew about your plans. Remember, earlier I said that I had all of these grandiose plans for the year 2020. Well, most of them have changed, and at no point did that surprise God.
