Enter 2022 Boldly!

Here we are at the brink of a new year. Does it really mean anything more than a digit higher when you write the date? Well, it does mark a new journey of the earth around the sun. It does result in the conclusion of another tax year. And for many it feels like a fresh start. There’s something about looking at a clean slate of months from January to December and wondering what those months will bring. Certain events are already etched in those months like birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays, but there are plenty of dates still waiting to have their history written. What will be written?

Let’s be honest, after everything we‘ve experienced in the past two years, many don’t want to find out. Some may even say they don’t look at the new year with anticipation but trepidation. What will this new year hold?

Scripture provides a clear answer for us when we embark on a new God-assigned task with trepidation. We see a few examples of this in scripture. The most prominent example is Joshua. Moses appoints Joshua to succeed him as the leader of Israel and tasks him with leading the people into the Promised Land. Joshua must lead this multitude into the land of Canaan and defeat the armies living there. And according to 10 of the Israelite spies these people were giants. No small task! I’m sure there was a bit of trepidation entering that role and responsibility. So what did God do? He encouraged him through the voices of three different people to take on that role boldly.

First, the voice of Moses spoke, Deut 31:6-8
“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you.  He will not leave you or forsake you.”
7Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. 8It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Then the voice of God Himself spoke, Deut 31:23; Josh 1:6-7,9
            And the Lord commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to give them. I will be with 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.
            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.” 

Finally, the voice of the people spoke, Josh 1:17-18
            17Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses! Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”

Joshua needed all those voices and repetitions because of the size of the task. But he ultimately embraced the truth of that message because we find him repeating it later to the people as they began conquering the land. These are Joshua’s words in Josh 10:25,  And Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. For thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.”

But it wasn’t only Joshua and the people who needed to hear this truth. Solomon, David’s son, was tasked with the sacred responsibility of building the temple of Yahweh! How would you like that responsibility? I’m sure ‘overwhelmed’ would be an understatement. David, his father, knew the anxiety that Solomon might feel and told him the following:
1 Chron 22:11-13
            11“Now, my son, the Lord be with you, so that you may succeed in building the house of the Lord your God, as he has spoken concerning you. 12Only, may the Lord grant you discretion and understanding, that when he gives you charge over Israel you may keep the law of the Lord your God. 13Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes and the rules that the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Fear not; do not be dismayed.
1 Chron 28:20
            Then David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished.
 
Finally, look at King Hezekiah and the threat he faced from the Assyrian army. The greatest and fiercest army of his time stood at the doorstep of his kingdom threatening to overthrow it. Hezekiah took the steps he could as an earthly king: fortifying the wall, building an additional wall, and making additional armor and weapons. But ultimately this was God’s battle and he encouraged his troops with these words,
2 Chron 32:7-8
            7 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. 8 With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

I’m quite confident you picked up on a familiar phrase and the source of confidence behind that phrase (I made it hard to miss). I’ll state it anyway, “BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS.” God calls each of these individuals and groups to enter their task boldly. Even though the situation and responsibilities seemed overwhelming, they were to move forward boldly. Why could they do that? God wasn’t calling them to blindly jump off a cliff with no one to catch them. He made clear the reason behind the command—He would be with them. God would be with them every step of the way. He would never leave them nor forsake them.

Well what about you and me? Are we looking down the tunnel of 2022 with trepidation, wondering if a train is going to come barreling through and hit us as we enter? Do we fear what words will be written on the blank squares of the 2022 calendar? If that’s where you’re at then remember this: God has brought you to 2022. He’s kept you alive and on this planet to face this new year. You’re entering this new year for a reason. And if God has brought you to this point, then He wants you to enter it boldly. Not because you and I can handle it, but because He will be with us. His message to you and me is “Be strong and courageous for I will be with you every new day you enter.” 

For God those calendar squares aren’t blank. Psalm 139:16 declares, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” God has every day of 2022 already filled in His calendar, and He’s going to walk with you and me through each one. 

So, brother and sister, ENTER 2022 BOLDLY, because the Lord your God is with you!