Embracing God’s Promises in the New Year
As we stand on the threshold of a new year, many of us reflect on the past and contemplate the future. What does this year hold? What if we could truly embrace all that God has for us, leaving behind the wilderness of our past and stepping boldly into the promised land of our future?
The journey of Joshua and the Israelites is a powerful example to us. After years of wandering in the wilderness, they stood at the edge of the Jordan River, poised to enter the land God had promised them. The command in Joshua 1:2 was clear: “Arise, go over this Jordan, you and all these people, to the land which I am giving to them.”
The same is true for us! Like Joshua, we are called to arise – to shake off the dust of our past, to leave behind the comfortable familiarity of our “wilderness,” and to step into the fullness of what God has prepared for us.
But here’s the catch: just like the Israelites, the land we’re called to enter isn’t empty. It’s filled with challenges, with giants that seem insurmountable, with walled cities that appear impenetrable. The spies who first surveyed the promised land came back with a mixed report. While they acknowledged the land’s abundance, many were overwhelmed by the obstacles they saw.
How often do we approach our own futures with this same mindset? We see the potential, the promise of what could be, but either fear or the perceived impossibilities paralyze us. Sometimes, we forget that the God who calls us is the same God who parted the Red Sea, provided manna in the desert, and made water flow from a rock.
The key lies in our perspective. Joshua and Caleb, two of the spies, saw the same challenges as the others. But their response was radically different: “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” Their confidence wasn’t in their own strength but in the faithfulness of God.
This year, I invite you to adopt this same posture of faith: to look at the challenges not through the lens of our own limitations but through the unlimited power of our God. Every promise He’s made, every dream He’s planted in our hearts, is ours to possess. All we have to do is arise and go.
But what does this look like practically? It starts with identity. Joshua’s very name was a declaration of faith. Originally called Hoshea (salvation), his name was changed to Joshua (Yahweh is salvation). In the midst of slavery and oppression, his parents dared to name him with hope, looking forward to God’s deliverance.
Likewise, we need to embrace our true identity in Christ. Too often, we allow our past, our failures, or the opinions of others to define us. But in Christ, we are new creations. The old has passed away, and the new has come. This year, let’s choose to live from this place of newness, believing that God can and will use every part of our story – even the painful chapters – for His glory and for the good of others.
Paul tells us in Philippians 3:13-14: But one thing I do: forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Our past doesn’t have to dictate our future. In fact, often, the very areas of our greatest pain become the source of our most powerful ministry to others.
As we step into this new year, let’s remember that we’re not alone in this journey. Just as God promised Joshua to always be with him and never to leave him, He makes the same promise to us today. His presence goes before us, making a way where there seems to be no way.
The journey ahead won’t always be easy. There will be battles to fight, giants to face, and walls to bring down. But we serve a God who specializes in the impossible. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is at work in us. With Him, we are more than conquerors. Let’s arise and go, taking hold of all that God has promised.
This year can be different. This year, we can truly “take it all”—all the grace, strength, wisdom, and love that God is offering. It’s not about creating something new or striving in our own power. It’s about receiving what God has already prepared, about stepping into the fullness of His purpose for our lives.
