Today is moving day. For the last seven or so, years my wife and I have been hosts to my daughter and son-in-law and their children. It was an arrangement born of necessity more than a desire to run a commune. But we have weathered the close proximity actually pretty well. But today they are finally moving into their own home and leaving this home behind. There are closets to clean out, the accumulation of seven years, furniture to move, boxes to be loaded and a myriad of other things, associated with leaving. It is, to say the least, a massive undertaking.

Moving from the present place into the next place carries with it various emotions. There is the anticipation of virgin territory. There is the excitement and hope associated with new beginnings. There is curiosity, wonder, and mystery surrounding this unknown new territory. But there also can be feelings of anxiety and fear that accompany this change from the familiar to the unfamiliar. The sense of letting go what was comfortable and known to step into the new frontier can produce a hesitation and timidity.

God spoke to Joshua at the river Jordan and told him that he was to lead the children of Israel into a new land. It was a land God described as flowing with milk and honey, in other words a good and productive land. It was to be their new home after having wandered for forty years in the wilderness. Israel had been in a perpetual holding pattern, like a plane circling the airport waiting to land. But now the order from the Lord had come and they were to cross this river into this new land filled with promise.

To accomplish this massive move God gave Joshua, at the beginning of the journey, the appropriate encouragement to assist him as he led Israel into the land of Canaan. One vital and particular assurance God made to Joshua was that He would be with him. Joshua 1:5 says this, “No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” God made sure Joshua knew that on this journey he would never be alone or forsaken. The Lord, as His forever companion, would accompany him. The call to Joshua, based upon God’s powerful, guiding presence, was to be strong and courageous. The strength and the courage to move ahead, leading the children of Israel was provided by the promise of God’s abiding presence. Jesus in the same way, when he commanded his apostles to go into all the world making disciples of all the nations, promised that He would be with them always even to the end of the age.

Too often my reticence to move stems from my fear and anxiety of what lies ahead. I cannot see very far ahead, and what I do see, at times seems overwhelming. To be held captive by my fears is the last thing God intends for me. Instead He calls for an ever-growing faith in His abiding, powerful presence, accompanying me on the journey into the new land He has prepared for me.

Presently, as I watch my daughter and her family “move on” from this place into the next, I realize that, in some ways, every day for each of us is moving day. With each new day we are presented with the wonder and mystery of the unknown, and rather than just trying to sit comfortably in the past we are called to move forward into the next place God has prepared for us. We journey onward knowing we are accompanied, guided and protected by His holy presence. So be strong and courageous and trust that the one who was with Moses, Joshua and the apostles longs to accompany you as well, as you follow Him into the next new place of His provision and care.