Moses was already one hundred and twenty years old when the Lord spoke these words through him to all of Israel. He was about to 'leave' the people and the earth by then, and he was not to cross over Jordan into the Promised Land. Joshua was the one chosen.
In Deuteronomy 31:7-8, Moses then called Joshua and said these words to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed."
While praying in the spirit the other day, I heard these words from the Lord:
"I AM the Lord who never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid therefore, for I AM present and I AM here with you, whatever you are going through right now."
I then heard:
"Wherever I have called you to be, there I AM with you. And whatever I have called you to do, there I AM with you also."
Indeed, He is the Great I AM, the 'present tense' God, and not an absent God, whatever you may be going through at the moment. Your part is simply to call out to Him, for He is your very present help in time of trouble (Psalm 46:1).
In cross-reference, Hebrews 13:5-6 says, '...For He himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"'
In Greek, this statement "I will never leave you nor forsake you" here is a 'double negative', which is designed to strengthen (put strong emphasis to) a particular statement, and in effect, it actually means, "I will never, ever leave you nor forsake you, no matter what, and in whatever circumstance you may be in." By the way, 'to forsake' is 'to give up (on something, or someone), or to abandon'.
The Amplified Bible puts it this way: "I will never [under any circumstances] desert you [nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless], nor will I forsake or let you down or relax My hold on you [assuredly not]!"
Just as the Lord had spoken to all of Israel and to Joshua those days, know that He is NOW right here, speaking the same to you. And because He is present, know also that His hand is present, strong enough to ward off every work of darkness that the enemy may have thrown against you. Romans 8:31 says it so aptly, 'What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?'
Not only that, His hand opens the way for you, where there seems to be no way. In Isaiah 43:10-13, the Lord says, "And understand that I AM He. Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, AM the Lord, and besides Me there is no Savior. I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed... Indeed before the day was, I AM He; and there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?" In Isaiah 43:19, the Lord then says, "Behold, I will do a new thing. Now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert."
As I was praying further, the Lord then spoke:
"This is a time to ask of Me, and call down heaven on earth! Be bold to ask, and you will receive! For I AM to you the Lord who is there, the YHWH Shammah, when you call upon Me!"
The name YHWH Shammah is found in Ezekiel 48:35, which is translated as 'The Lord is there, or the Lord is present', and it speaks of the city of God (see Revelation 21:9-12, Revelation 22:3-5). And where He is, there will be life, and life in great abundance. Whatever is dead will be turned into life, simply because there is no death in heaven. Revelation 21:4-5 says, 'And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new."'
"But that's what happens in heaven, and not here on earth!" You might say.
People of God, the good news is you don't have to wait till you leave this earth to taste heaven! The truth is you can have a portion of heaven even now, right here on earth! In other words, you can partake of heaven even now! Otherwise Jesus wouldn't have taught us to pray this way: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:9-10)
Now watch what Revelation 21:2-3 (NKJV) says to confirm the above, 'Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, God Himself will be with them and be their God."'
See the words "coming down out of heaven from God" here? On earth as it is in heaven!
Let's do a little cross-reference on the name YHWH Shammah now.
The word 'Shammah' comes from the Hebrew word 'sham', and this word 'sham' can be found in Isaiah 48:16 that says, "Come near to Me, hear this... From the time that it was, I was there ('sham'), and now the Lord God and His Spirit have sent Me (Jesus) to you..." This verse speaks of the Lord who is and who was and who is to come. In Revelation 1:8, the Lord Himself says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
Notice 'who is' comes first here? The Lord wants you to know that He is first and foremost 'who is', the very present God!
And this same word 'sham' (where 'Shammah' comes from) can also be found in Psalm 133:3 that says, "It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there ('sham') the Lord commanded blessing - life forevermore."
'Hermon' here is a 'picture' of 'being exclusive', i.e. 'not found elsewhere, or can't find it anywhere else (but only from the Lord)', and 'dew' here speaks of 'the refreshing that the Lord brings'. Indeed, there is no other name given among men by which one can be saved, except by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12), and only in Him flows times of refreshing (Acts 3:19).
Lamentations 3:22-24 says, 'Through the Lord's mercies, we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning (like the dew), and great is Your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion", says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!"'
The phrase "The Lord is my portion" here can mean "I can partake of Him (the Lord)" or "I have a part in Him (and His heavenly plans)".
Therefore, people of God, no matter what you see or what happens on earth at the moment, and no matter how perilous this world has become, there's still every reason to hope! And as the Lord had spoken to all of Israel and to Joshua, fear not; knowing that the Lord is now here with you, and He is to you the YHWH Shammah, the Lord who is present.
Allow heaven and all the goodness of heaven to descend upon you today!
