What do you need when you face hardship in your life? In this passage, a vast allied army with advanced technology is gathered against the Israelites. So God instructs the Israelites in how to persevere and reach the finish line despite their hardships, and despite the fear that accompanies them. The Israelites don’t need new information, or new resources to compete with their enemies. What they need is a call back to the Gospel: to live out its implications in the circumstances of their lives.

Why is this important, for them and for us? The Gospel is not just good news for those who don’t know Jesus yet. It’s also good news every day for the Christian. It’s the thing that God gives us to sustain us as the bedrock and foundation of our lives—all through our lives as it comes to fruition. This Gospel doesn’t necessarily take away our hardships, but it does give us a hope in the midst of them: a real, specific hope, for a real future. It takes away our fear, for through Jesus all enemies are defeated in the end, and “the last enemy to be defeated is death.”