Skip to main content

New Article: Navigating the New Year

 

               As we begin another new year, I cannot help but think of Joshua.  Moses had been leading God’s people to the promised land.  However, just before they arrived, Moses died, and Joshua was put in charge.  Faced with the uncertainty of what was coming, God gave him the following advice.

               “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:6-9). 

               First, notice that God tells Joshua to choose his attitude ahead of time by telling him to be strong and courageous.  We do not always get to choose our circumstances, but we always get to choose how we go through them.  Moping and complaining never helps.  Choosing to face things with strength and courage was so important that God repeated this instruction three times in three verses.    

               Next, Joshua was told to remember and meditate on the promises of God.  Too often, we see the obstacles instead of the opportunities.  We predict what could go wrong rather than what could go right.  We think about how little we can do and forget how much God can do.  By telling Joshua to keep the word and the promises in his mind, God was directing him to train his thinking in a better way and to live with hope.

               Lastly, God reminds Joshua that “(I) will be with you wherever you go”.  It is easy to become discouraged when you think that you have no help, but that was not the case for Joshua, and it is never the case for Christians.  God is not only with us (Matthew 28:20), his spirit lives in us (1 Corinthians 6:19).  Regardless of what we are facing, we always have help.

               Joshua was successful, not because he was special, but because he served God and made that his focus.  As we go into this new year, may the same be said of us.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Noticing.... Seeing what we need to see and what we miss when we don't

 What we focus on in life matters. Here are some scriptural reminders that will help us see correctly.  https://youtu.be/Rn76tV0ZH8s    
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This: Twenty-three Descriptions of God (Psalm 145)

  Let’s play a quick game.  Take 10 seconds and list 5 or 6 words to describe God.  Got your words?  Good!   Here comes the game part.  I will list twenty-three ways that David describes God in Psalm 145, and we will see how many of his words match yours.   David says that God is, the king, great, majestic, wonderful, powerful, awesome, abundant in goodness, righteous, gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, rich in love, good to all, glorious, mighty, trustworthy, faithful, supporting, generous, providing, near, saving and watching.     How did you do? This is not a useless exercise.  The words we use to describe God not only indicate something about how we see him, but they also influence how we interact with him.  For example, if I know that God is “Gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love” (verse 8), I will not fear him, and I will not assume that he is against me.  When I remember that...
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This: What is so Great About Grace?

If you were to drive by our house, you would see that Sara loves plants.  Our yard is full of flowers, and Sara lovingly tends every one of them. Which is why I was so afraid when she left town and put me in charge of keeping things alive. She must have been a little concerned, too, because she sent me two videos with specific instructions on how to water, when to water, and what to do.  Honestly, those first two videos helped, but the third one she sent was the one I liked most.  In that one, she said, “Please do your best. I want the yard to look good for the family reunion in two weeks.  However, if something dies, we will dig it out and pretend that it never existed!” That is what grace looks like!  Try your best, do what you can, but if it goes wrong, it will be ok. Sometimes we talk as though grace and effort are opposites.  That is not true.  They are partners. In one place, scripture asks, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone c...
Post a Comment
Read more