Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. — Joshua 1:9

We know what it’s like to be afraid when we’re standing at the foot of a mountain we feel we have no business climbing. We’ve all been tasked with something that is out of our comfort zone, where we feel like we’re operating outside of our gift mix, but then have someone who believes in us and encourages us to try. This was Joshua after God called him to replace Moses as Israel’s leader. Ok, the text doesn’t say that Joshua experienced the kind of debilitating doubt that many of us experience when we are called to courageous things. But God charged him nonetheless, encouraging him to be strong and have courage, and to not be afraid or dismayed. 

Of course the reason why God said it was possible for Joshua to succeed in taking on the monumental task of leading the Israelites is because God would be with him wherever he went. Pause and think about the profundity of that statement. “Wherever you go,” God told Joshua, “The Lord your God is with you.” Sometimes in our frantic natures, in our fearful symmetry, in the sunken depths of our proneness to wander, we forget that there is no place we go in our lives that God has not made His home with us. “Wherever you go…” God whispers to us when that foot takes another step into unknown forests of tangled branches that obscure our sight and cloud our direction. “Wherever you go…” God whispers to us when the darkness descends upon us in the night hours and we know that dawn won’t provide the light we really need. 

“Wherever you go…” God whispers. “The Lord your God is with you…”

Well, you have had some gods this year. They have been objects, people, desires, ambitions. They’ve not looked or felt like God, but they have received your worship, your love, your adoration, and your allegiance. The problem with these lower “g” gods is that they’re not the Lord of the universe, as much as you’ve tried to become the Lord of your universe. In fact, they’re not really your gods at all because they’re not gods in the slightest, no matter how much you’ve exalted them. But the Lord of the universe, this is the capital “G” God who is with you. You have a God who is with you whatever great unknown is in your future as the new year draws nearer. 

So when the Lord your God tells you to be strong and courageous, you have the humility to embrace those two crazy postures because it’s not you, but He that is in you that will transform you into the person you have no possibility of being on your own. You don’t have to be frightened or dismayed because the God who goes before you upholds you in times of faithfulness and faithlessness. 

Reflect

What are some of the lower “g” gods you committed your life to this year? What areas do you need to recommit to the Lord as you enter the new year?