Daily Devotion

Reflection: Terry
Voice: Shivdas

Do not fear or be dismayed

Audio

Today is Monday, 2nd of June. Let us start with this refrain:

O Lord, open our lips;
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Let us worship the Lord.
All praise to his name.

We read Psalm 93:

¹    The  Lord  reigns; he is  robed in majesty;
the  Lord  is  robed; he has  put on strength as his belt.
    Yes, the world is established;  it shall never be moved.

²    Your throne is established from of old;
    you are from everlasting.

³    The floods have lifted up, O  Lord ,
the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their roaring.

⁴ Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
mightier than the waves of the sea,
    the  Lord    on high is mighty!

⁵ Your decrees are very trustworthy;
    holiness befits your house,
O  Lord , forevermore.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as It was in the beginning, is
now, and shall be forever. Amen.

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The Old Testament reading is Deuteronomy 31:7-8:

⁷ Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. 
⁸ It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

The New Testament Reading is 1 John 2: 18-25:

¹⁸ Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.¹⁹ They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. ²⁰ But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. ²¹ I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. ²² Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. ²³ No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. ²⁴ Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵ And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.

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Reflection

“Do not fear or be dismayed.”

These were the repeated words of Moses to a young Joshua. In this poignant passage, Moses—fully aware that he would not cross the Jordan—was offering some of his final words of guidance and encouragement. The leadership baton was being passed, and Joshua would soon carry the immense responsibility of leading Israel into the Promised Land.

Fear and discouragement are common and deeply human experiences. The Bible doesn’t dismiss or minimize them. On the contrary, it acknowledges how easily these feelings can grip us, even paralyze us. Life is uncertain, and there is much that can—and does—go wrong.

As I reflect on this passage, I think of families caring for children with severe autism. Their love is constant, but so too are the challenges. It wouldn’t be surprising if they are often overwhelmed by fear and dismay. And they are not alone. Many quietly carry burdens that make these words of Moses feel all the more necessary.

The fact that Scripture repeats this refrain again and again is telling—it’s because we need to hear it again and again.

I won’t offer you easy answers or tidy clichés. Only this truth:

“It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
(Deuteronomy 31:8)

Let these words be your anchor, especially when the weight feels too heavy.

We end with the Collect for today:

O God the King of glory,
you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ
with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven:
we beseech you, leave us not comfortless,
but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us and exalt us to the place
where our Saviour Christ is gone before,
who is alive and reigns with you, 
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Link to today’s Morning Office