God's Plan, Purpose and Promise for New Seasons
As we enter the New Year, it makes one very reflective. It’s during this time of year that we ponder all that happened last year and wonder what will happen this new year. I often find myself with those butterflies in my stomach that you get on the first day of school at the top of the year. It’s that nervousness that you face when you are leaving something old and entering into something new. I’ve always had that nervous feeling at the start of a new school year when I was younger. I had it when I stayed home with my kids for the first time as a stay-at-home mom. I even had it when I sent my kids to school for the first time.
New beginnings usher in a level of excitement, but they often bring in excitement’s ugly cousin: fear. When we don’t know what will happen as seasons change, we fear what might be. What if this new change is the worst? What if I should have stayed with what I’d always done? What if it doesn’t work out or I fail?
Looking into a new beginning holds much promise and possibility, but it also holds much uncertainty. And that’s very scary. But it’s in these times God so gently reminds us in His Word: do not be afraid.
In this study, we are going to look at Joshua who too was facing a new season that would bring much opportunity to fear and doubt. In Joshua 1:1-9, we hear God’s word of encouragement to Joshua to move forward into new territory without fear, but with strength and courage. It reads:
“After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 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 1:1-9 ESV)
Joshua had the responsibility of leading the Israelites into the Promised Land. After years in Egyptian slavery and more years in the wilderness, they would finally receive a land to call their own. A land promised to them by God.
This was good news but there was a reason God needed to tell Joshua to be strong and courageous. There is a reason God told him not to be fearful or discouraged. Each blessing we obtain or new seasons we enter carries a certain weight to it and Joshua was feeling the full weight of his new leadership responsibilities.
At the start of the book of Joshua, before God gives His commands and encouragements, He tells Joshua to arise. This lets me know Joshua was down or else God would not need to tell him to get up. Moses, who led the Israelites out of slavery and through the wilderness has just died. Joshua, who was Moses’ assistant, was most likely mourning this great loss. His whole life in the wilderness was under the leadership and direction of Moses who spoke directly with God. All of God’s people relied heavily on Moses and now that weight would shift to Joshua at a time where he was sad and afraid.
As we enter the new year, I wonder what you may be mourning? What have you lost in the process of getting to this moment? What is God gently asking you to arise from so you can walk into this new season?
Graciously, God was sympathetic to Joshua and gently provided the encouragement Joshua needed as he entered a new season, and this is the same encouragement we need as we enter this new year.
From the text, we see God didn’t just tell Joshua to stop being afraid. No, He gave Joshua a reason not to be afraid and He gives us the same reasons to proceed into new seasons with courage.
God gave Joshua a plan, a purpose, and a promise that would sustain the courage and strength he would need to get up and fight for what God blessed him and his people with: the Promised Plan.
Like Joshua, as we enter new seasons, God grants us a plan, a purpose, and a promise to infuse our hearts with the courage we need to step through new doors and opportunities.
GOD GIVES JOSHUA A PLAN
First, God gives Joshua a plan. The beginning of the year is full of planning and strategizing. I honestly find it intimidating. We plan out what we want to accomplish for the year, but we don’t know if it will actually happen. We paint the picture, but we don’t really know how it will develop. Proverbs 16:9 tells us:
“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” (Proverbs 16:9 NLT)
It’s ok to have a plan but in our hearts, we must make room for God to have His way. He has ordained every step of our lives and we can trust Him with it. God told Joshua:
“Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses.” (Joshua 1:3 ESV)
God then lays out the specific places He has entrusted Joshua to conquer. Joshua didn’t have to wonder what the plan was; God made it clear to Him. And as I read this part of the text for this study, I took in the magnitude of this conversation between Joshua and God. Like Moses, Joshua would hear from God, a necessary part of not only His success, but an entire generation of God’s people.
Y’all, when it comes to making new moves, entering new seasons, and walking into new opportunities, we need to hear the voice of God. When plans are made, we need to be in a position to hear from the One who orders all our steps. As we enter this new year and think about what we want to accomplish, we must ask ourselves, have we heard from God?
This is why God tells Joshua:
“Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:7 ESV)
Joshua’s success in accomplishing God’s plans were directly connected to him knowing and following God’s Word. God speaks to us in many ways: through prayer, through the Spirit, through others, confirmation, dreams, visions and more. Whether you have heard God in any of these ways, there is one way God speaks to all His people leaving us with no excuse as to if we can hear from Him or not and that is through His Word.
As we make plans, we involve God through seeking Him in prayer, but we hear from Him and gain understanding and clarity of His desire for our lives through His Word.
This week at church I was reminded that our lives are not our own. God has entrusted our lives to us and we will be accountable to God one day for what we did with them. If we want to be successful, we need to re-evaluate our definition of success.
According to our text, success is not in how much money we acquire, the titles we hold, the degrees we accomplish, or who we know. The Bible says it’s when we follow God’s Word that we will find success wherever we go.
Is that on your to-do list? Is that on your vision board? Is obedience and surrender one of your New Year's resolutions?
Now, I’m not saying don’t make plans, but ensure those plans are led by God and directed by His will.
One of the most popular verses in the Bible is Jeremiah 29:11 that says:
“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 NIV)
Not only are God’s plans greater than ours, His plans always lead to PURPOSE. Which leads to my second point as we look at Joshua on the cusp of entering this new season:
GOD GIVES JOSHUA PURPOSE
A plan is a set of directions to achieve a task or goal. Purpose on the other hand, is the reason why something exists or something is done. A plan is what we do, but purpose is why we do it. Proverbs 19:21 says:
“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” (Proverbs 19:21 ESV)
We have many plans, and ideas for how we want to accomplish many things in our lives. I love that the scripture says that we don’t just have some plans, but that we have many plans because I know I do. I have lists, and notes and memos full of ideas I want to try, books I want to write, and goals I want to accomplish. At times, it can be overwhelming and exhausting, and frustrating knowing that I don’t have enough time or energy to actually pursue every plan that comes to my heart. But we can have peace when we know that greater than our many plans are God’s ultimate purpose.
Often when our plans don’t work out, we get discouraged. When we look at our planners and vision boards and see all that we have not accomplished, we become frustrated. But what if God is using what we would call failed plans for His greater purpose?
When we think of Joshua, we have to realize He wasn’t just entering the Promised Land, He was preserving a nation that would usher in the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who would bring salvation to all who place their faith in Him.
Plans are what we do, but the effects of purpose grow far beyond ourselves. Yes Joshua may have been fearful, yes he had reason to mourn the death of Moses, yes we can understand and sympathize why he would be intimidated, doubtful, or discouraged. But this wasn’t all about him. His decision to listen to God and follow His plan would birth a purpose that would affect all mankind.
We have to realize that when God calls us to do something, it’s not just about us. God is ready to use His plan for our lives to impact others. Overcoming your fear, trusting God, stepping out on faith, and taking that risk over again isn’t just about you. It’s about the purpose on your life that will save, heal, set free, encourage, and inspire those God has entrusted to you.
Just like our life is not our own, neither is this New Year. This year is God’s year and we can make our plans, but we must always find peace in knowing it’s His greater purpose that will prevail.
GOD GIVES JOSHUA A PROMISE
So not only does God give Joshua a plan to know which direction he should go, and a purpose with great meaning to inspire him, God also gives Joshua a promise.
God didn’t just tell Joshua to be strong and leave it there. He didn’t simply tell Joshua to be courageous and leave him hanging. No. God gave Joshua reason to obey His command which was the promise of His presence.
It’s God's presence that is the answer to our fears and worries, or doubts and anxieties. We might not know what’s going to happen or how things will turn out and that is frightening. But we can find security in knowing that we walk with the God who does know all things. He knows how it will work out and we can trust Him. Why? Because He knows and we don’t.
Envision you’re watching a movie with a friend and you grow to like a specific character in the movie but you start to grow a suspicion that this character might be killed off and you can’t stand the thought of it. Now imagine the friend you are watching the movie with has already seen the movie and knows how it will end. You ask them if you should worry about your favorite character dying and they assure you, you don’t need to worry about it. You don’t know the details, and you still don’t know exactly how the movie will end, but you have peace knowing it will be ok because you’ve trusted the word of your friend who’s already seen the movie.
In the same way, as we walk through life, as we leave one season and enter another, we have a God who is with us. God knows how this story is going to end, and without giving us all the details, gently promises us that it’s going to be ok. So although there may be some struggle, surprises, or plot twists along the way, we hold tight to the promise that God is with us and in the end, we have nothing to fear because:
God's plans are always good.
His purpose will always prevail.
And His promise is always sure.
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