Joshua 1:9
do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God
is with you wherever you go.
Bible Reading
for a Year [bible]psalm1[/bible]; [bible]matth1[/bible]; [bible]genes1-2[/bible]
They stand in the cold by the thousands in Times Square,
New York City. What draws them to that place? There’s no sporting event or rock
concert. There’s just a huge lighted ball that drops down a pole on top of a
building. It takes only a few seconds, and it hardly seems worth fighting
traffic and subway crunch to see—except that it happens on New Year’s Eve.
Why have we created a holiday over such a nonevent? Other
holidays celebrate famous birthdays or historical milestones or something. New
Year’s Eve just celebrates the passage of time. We make such a fuss because it
signals the end of an old era and the beginning of a new one. The old year’s
problems and struggles become a dim memory when we think of getting a fresh
start.
It must have been something like that for the Israelites
who stood with Joshua and looked at the new era ahead of them (Joshua 1:1-9).
Behind them were 40 years of wandering in the desert. Ahead was a land of milk
and honey. And best of all, they had God’s promise that He would be with them.
As we stand with our back to the past 12 months and our
face toward the new year, we can have hope because we too can be sure of God’s
help. That makes the prospect of a new year worth celebrating! –Dave Branon
We can trust our all-knowing God for the unknown future.