“Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
(Joshua 1:9; NASB)

 Another year gone by; another new one to take its place. For some of us, it seems like nothing has changed since the last New Year’s celebration. For others, it seems like everything has changed. Most likely both are exaggerated notions of a smaller reality. Things change for all of us, even when it appears they’re not changing at all. Every day presents its own set of challenges and requires our participation even if we choose not to take part. We make decisions every day that will in some way determine how the days that follow will be. This is true even if our decision is to not make any decisions.

Each year when the new year approaches many of us think about things we need to change to make the next year better than the last. Some make plans and resolutions (most of which we don’t keep) to lose weight, work harder, not work as much, quit spending so much money, quit drinking, quit smoking, quit tweeting, and the list goes on. Others think about starting a business, changing jobs, going back to school, getting married, moving to another part of the country, again, the list goes on. Chances are you have something you have wanted to do or change for a long time but are afraid to try.

When Joshua took over for Moses, he was challenged with doing something that Moses had never done. He hadn’t been trained in Promised Land takeovers. All he probably knew for sure was that it would not be easy. He was one of the spies who, forty years earlier, had seen the size and strength of the people who lived there; the people they would have to defeat to possess what God was giving them. He had waited those forty years for this time. Now it was here, and it was time to take action. Chances are he had moments when he was terrified of what could happen if things didn’t go well. After all, he was forty years younger and had youthful strength on his side when he stood his ground after spying out the land. A lot had changed since then.

But there was one thing that had not changed. God was with him, just as He is with you and I and anyone who lives to glorify God in what we do. Stepping out into something new or changing something you’ve been doing for a long time can be overwhelming and even terrifying. Prayer and godly counsel is a good place to start when taking on something new or changing something that used to work but no longer bears good fruit. Taking that first step in faith can be hard, but incredibly rewarding.

Take some time in the next few days and ask the Lord what He would like to see you do or change in your life, then listen. Have faith that God is with you wherever you go and move forward. Whether you stop something, start something, change something, or just do more or less of something, that first step may be just the beginning of a wonderful journey. Glorify God in all you do and watch as He shows you just how much He loves you.

Happy New Year from all of us at Open Homes. God bless.