“Facing the New Year”
Joshua 1:1-9
After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “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. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
7 “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. 8 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.
9 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.”
In our background Scripture we find that Moses, the great leader of Israel was dead. Joshua, one of the two faithful spies, was the new leader. He and Caleb were all that remained of the people from forty years ago. Do you remember that incident? God raised up Moses to lead His people out of the bondage and slavery of Egypt to take them to the Promised Land. God had given it to them. In a matter of days they left Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, and stood on Canaan’s border.
God had given them this land and they didn’t take it. They were afraid even with God going before them. So they timidly send 12 men to spy out the land – one from each tribe. After they returned, 10 of the men shared fearful reports of giants in the land and fortified cities. Joshua and Caleb reported grape clusters so large it took two men to carry them. They said the land was lush and rich and fertile. Yes, there were giants and fortified cities but - God was greater than the enemy. They recommended taking the land immediately.
The people rejected their report and rebelled against Moses and God. As a result they wandered in the wilderness for forty years until the entire nation died out one by one. Even Moses was gone. Now they once again stood on the border of the Promised Land – the land God had promised them.
As I have thought about this incident it reminded me of us entering the New Year. There will be giants in the land. You can count on it. There will be giant problems; giant threats of destruction; giant obstacles to overcome.
Do you watch the news and follow the presidential race and debates? I do a little bit but I find it makes me so depressed and negative and leaves me so gloomy that I can only take so much of it. Each candidate is telling how terrible our nation is and how they can fix it. It’s like listening to the ten frightened spies. They spread their fear to everyone and cast doubts over the promises of God.
Like the Children of God about to go into the frightening Promised Land; we stand on the brink of a frightening New Year. If we are going to go into it and take it – we will have to have four things to make it.
The first thing that is essential is Hope. Hope is an expectation of good to come. Someone defined it as “a trusting expectation that God will keep his word.” Life is very hard when one is without hope. That is the simple reason people commit suicide. They may give all sorts of excuses and reasons and blame any number of things or people – but the bottom line is that they lose their hope. They don’t expect life will get any better. The future holds no promise of good to come. They have come to believe that the future will hold more of the same pain as the present – or even worse. The ten fearful spies feared death and destruction for the future instead of the blessings God promised them. In other words, they choose to believe their doubts and fears and what they dreaded – rather than God. Their actions called God a liar. And God withdrew his blessing from them.
We have to be hopeful as we go into the coming year. We need to anticipate God’s blessings and trust His promises. There may be a fiery furnace ahead for some; others may face a lion’s den or a Goliath – but God is able. Jesus’ last words according to Matthew, was-
“…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
“…For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you…”
Hebrews 13:5
“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6
God repeats that promise to Joshua as they are about to enter the Promised Land.
“As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Joshua 1:5
There is nothing we will face this year that we can’t handle – with God’s help. As long as the Lord is by our side we have nothing to fear. As long as Jesus walks beside us we have hope – we have the expectation of good things ahead. As Jesus reached down and pulled up Peter when he doubted and fell into the cold dangerous water – so Jesus will always reach down and save us when we lift our hands to Him. Take that hope with you as you walk boldly into the New Year.
Secondly, we will need purpose. Without purpose you wander aimlessly – waiting for death to end your meaningless existence. When God calls us He always gives us a purpose. The Children of Israel were given the purpose of entering into the land and conquering it. They rejected God’s purpose for their lives and they wandered aimlessly in the desert for forty years. I think a lot of people live their lives that way – just wandering aimlessly with no purpose or plan. God said,
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10
“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” Ephesians 4:11-12
Do you understand and believe that you have a purpose in life? God has you here for a purpose. There is a reason and purpose for you to enter into the New Year. If you don’t know what that purpose is – pray until God reveals it to you.
The New Year lies before us inviting us, challenging us, beckoning us to come. We can choose fear and wander aimlessly or we can place our hope in God and fulfill the purpose He has for us. Take Hope and Purpose with you into the New Year.
The third thing you will need to successfully conquer the New Year is Faith. Faith is a result of God giving you a promise or directions and you trusting Him, believing Him and obeying. Faith is preceded by a revelation from God or God revealing His will to you, you believing God, trusting Him and doing that thing He asks you to do.
Do you see the Children of Israel lacked faith? God gave them instructions; revealed His will to them – and they didn’t believe Him. They trusted their own wisdom and intellect and refused to go in and possess the land. The Bible says,
“…without faith it is impossible to please God.” Hebrews 11:6
“…The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:17
As we face the New Year we need to face it with faith in God. We need to believe His promises; we need to trust His love; we need to do His will. Without faith we can do nothing. Without faith we can’t please God. But if we will have faith – Jesus said that nothing will be impossible to us. He said we can move mountains. He said that if we are faithful that one day we will hear Him say,
“Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your Lord!”
Matthew 25:21,23
We need 1. Hope; 2. Purpose, 3. Faith and one more thing. As we face the unknown year we will need 4. Courage.
Someone defined courage as - not a lack of fear – but moving ahead in spite of your fear. Caleb and Joshua saw the same things that the other spies saw. But they saw through eyes of hope and faith so they also had courage. Hopelessness and faithlessness makes all of us cowards. We live fearful, empty lives. But with courage Daniel was able to rebel against the government even though it meant he would be thrown into a lion’s den. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were able to defy the king even though they knew they would be thrown into a fiery furnace. Faith and Hope gave David purpose and courage and he was able to face the giant Goliath and do the impossible – and slay him. The Holy Spirit gave Peter courage after he had doubted and lied in fear. God brought him back and gave him the courage to preach to the very ones who had killed Jesus and who had frightened him so badly. The result was that God was glorified and thousands of people turned to the Lord. Do you understand that when you act boldly, faithfully, and obediently that it results in bringing glory to God?
Moses had led God’s people for decades and now it was time to enter the Promised Land – but because of a moment of faithlessness he would not be sharing in that blessing. So he brought Joshua to him and said,
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Once was not enough. Again he said, “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:6,8
Courage is a choice. Hope is a choice. Fulfilling your purpose is a choice. Faith is a choice. As we stand on the brink of what could be the beginning of the end – we need to choose to be courageous. We need to place our hope and faith in the Lord and fulfill the purpose He has for us this coming year. We won’t face it alone. He will be with us all the way. Let’s go out in His strength confidently and courageously and conquer whatever may come.
