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My idea of a good start to the new year is a good night's sleep. I sympathize, however, with the woman who posted that she wasn't going to stay up to welcome in the new year, but she was going to stay up to make sure the old year left! 2024, with its strange Presidential election, excessive food and fuel costs, storms, floods, and shootings won't be missed by many people.
But what will 2025 bring? No one really has a clue; It could make 2024 look like a cakewalk. That's the thing about change: There's always an element of uncertainty, and uncertainty creates fear.
Joshua 1 begins with the Lord speaking to Joshua: "Moses my servant is dead." Moses successfully led the people of Israel for 40 years. Working as God's servant, Moses gained the Israelite's freedom from Egyptian slavery, guided the people through the desert and gave Israel the Law of God. Moses helped Israel go from Egyptian slavery to world respect. But now Moses is dead.
With those words, God pushes Joshua to let go of the past and embrace the future. Look again at the entirety of Joshua 1:2 (NIV): "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them--to the Israelites." Moses is dead, and Joshua and the people of Israel can't continue to live in the past. It's time for them to move on.
After predicting the bright future Israel is about to enjoy, God told Joshua in verse 6: "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them." Note that, even as the Lord predicts victory, He tells Joshua to "be courageous," a message repeated in verses 7 and 9. Three times in four verses God tells Joshua, "Don't be afraid."
Why tell someone not to be afraid? Because they are afraid. Joshua, who has been Moses' right-hand-man throughout the last 40 years, has witnessed Moses' success and been a partner in almost all of it. But as the mantle of responsibility falls on Joshua's shoulders, when Moses is no longer there to be "in charge," Joshua is afraid. And Joshua is afraid even after the Lord has already promised to be with him and help him succeed.
Joshua's biggest enemy lies between his ears!
Martin Luther King, Jr. admitted to experiencing a time when he felt like he was losing his courage, feeling more afraid than he had ever been. He said, "I prayed a prayer, and I prayed it out loud that night. "Lord, I'm down here trying to do what's right. I think I'm right. I think the cause that we represent is right. But Lord, I must confess that I'm weak right now. I'm faltering. I'm losing my courage." King said it felt like the Lord responded by saying, "Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness. Stand up for justice. Stand up for the truth. And lo, I will be with you, even unto the end of the world." Just three days later, a bomb shattered the King's front porch, but Martin Luther King, Jr. faced that calmly; he trusted in the Lord's presence.
Presence is what God promised to Joshua to allay his fears: Joshua 1:9 reads, "...Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
That same promise, you'll remember, is the one Jesus gave his disciples in Matthew 28:20: "...And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Even though no one really knows what the year ahead will hold, whether personally or on a worldwide scale, humanity can be sure of this: God is in control, forever and always. Our job is to focus on our future, not our fears.
After Heather Block of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Canada, retired in 2016, she decided to learn to ride a motorcycle. She took a class to learn to control her bike, one that included a course with lots of switchbacks and sharp curves. Heather found herself riding into the weeds until her instructor coached her: "You'll steer where you stare." After that, Heather started looking at where she wanted to be, and the riding was easy.
That's how we should approach the year ahead. God is with us. Ride.