Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Isaiah 41:10
What an encouraging verse! There are so many ways to bid folks a fond farewell as they leave you. It could be a simple “Take care” or “Be careful” or even “I will miss you, bye bye”. But how about saying “Go with God”?
Today we don’t hear people tell others to “Go with God” much, although I have known it to be very common in Hispanic cultures to say “Vaya con Dios”, which translated to English is literally “Go with God”. This has been a phrase used by Spanish Christians since the Middle Ages when they would say this to other Christians before they left for a journey. Similarly, in English we have a common salutation of “Godspeed” which we say to mean the same thing, literally: “Have a prosperous journey”.
And why not use such encouraging words? The Bible is full of passages that remind us that God is with us. We see it here:
God told it to Jacob in his dream: “And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.” (Genesis 28:15)
God told it to Moses: “And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” (Exodus 33:14)
Moses told the people what the Lord said as he was turning leadership over to Joshua: “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)
The psalmist wrote the unforgettable words: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” (Psalms 23:4)
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:20)
The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews wrote: “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5)
Do you encourage your brothers and sisters with words from God? To do it you must be daily in the Word and His words will remain in your heart. When His words are in your heart you can be an encouragement by not only speaking of the things of the Lord, but by remembering to bid them the fond farewell: Go with God!
