I Will Never Leave You or Forsake You

No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. (Joshua 1:5-6)

God’s first words to Joshua after Moses’ death were not strategy or instruction, but a promise: “I will not leave you or forsake you… so I will be with you” (Joshua 1:5–6).

In Hebrew, leave means to abandon, and forsake means to desert. God was not merely assuring Joshua of His presence in theory, He was promising a covenant faithfulness to him. The phrase “with you” speaks of fellowship and companionship, not a distant oversight. God was not going to be this big guy in the sky from afar, He was going to be up close and personal. God was assuring Joshua of an abiding relationship as he stepped into a huge calling to lead God’s people.

This was not a new promise. God had told Moses the same thing (Deuteronomy 31:6–8). David later spoke these words to Solomon (1 Chronicles 28:20). The same truth echoed through the New Testament as we’re reminded that God will never leave or forsake them (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus Himself promised His disciples, “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). And we are reminded that Jesus Christ is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

The same God who walked with Moses and Joshua, whom David trusted and the New Testament writer proclaimed, is the same God who speaks this promise to us today. We are not abandoned. We are not deserted. We are not left to navigate obedience alone. God is with us: in fellowship, in companionship, and in truth, and He is leading us toward freedom and rest in Him (Joshua 1:13b).

Hebrews 4:7–11 exhorts us not to harden our hearts when we hear His voice, but instead to strive to enter the rest God provides. That striving is not frantic effort, but faithful trust. Psalm 46:10 reminds us to “be still, and know God.”

Stillness becomes possible when we truly believe this promise: God is with us. And where God abides with His people, rest is not only offered…it’s found.