“Your God will go with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 NKJV

“Life will confront you with places unfamiliar and times uncertain, but God is there.”

Lauren, my thoughts today are about “places unfamiliar.”

I guess I am just not adventurous; if unaccompanied, I don’t enjoy going places where I have not been before. I am most comfortable when I am hosted by a friend or acquaintance familiar with the places we’ll be. I enjoy visiting England, but I enjoy it most when my British friend, Andrew, is alongside. Life will frequently take you where you may not have been before – such as a first experience, a new opportunity, a new demand, a new direction, a new challenge, a new difficulty, into a new circle of acquaintances, toward a new destination, or on an unfamiliar path. Life will confront you with places unfamiliar and times uncertain, but there God will be with you. “Draw close to God and He will draw close to you.” James 4:8 NLT.

Joshua and Israel were in a place they had not been before. Now Moses was dead and Joshua was in charge, and Israel waited to see what he would do. Joshua, even with 2 million people with him probably felt very alone – until God appeared! Joshua did not know what was ahead, but God did. It may be your first time somewhere, but God has gone before you and will be with you. All Joshua had to do was listen and follow.

“The Lord spoke to Joshua . . I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous . . that you may prosper wherever you go . . be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:1-9 NKJV. Reading these verses, I learn five practical things when I am in a new place – expect God to show up (Read Isaiah 30:21 NKJV); reach inside for strength and courage without fear or dismay; rehearse God’s truth in every conversation, reflect on God’s instructions in your considerations, and respond obediently to God’s direction. Why? Because “your God is with you wherever you go!”

Luke describes two disciples returning to Emmaus following Jesus crucifixion and resurrection, the latter yet unknown to them. “They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked . . Jesus came and walked along with them but they were kept from recognizing Him.“ Luke 24:13-35 NKJV. They were somewhere they had never been before. Their dreams buried, plans changed, and thoughts puzzled. And then and there, they found Jesus with them. So will you!

If you want God to be with you wherever you go, then be sure you go in obedience where God leads. Even when you are uncertain of other things, be confident the Almighty God is with you. This was Job’s confidence when the future was unclear and the present unfamiliar and uncertain: “He knows the way that I take . . my foot has held fast to His steps. I have kept His way and not turned aside.” Read Job 23:8-12 NIV. Read Psalm 139:7-10 NIV. If you cannot escape from God when you would, then God will not be absent when you want Him near. “That men would seek Him and reach out for Him and find Him. Though He is not far from each one of us. In Him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:27-28 NIV.

Lauren, my prayer for you today is that you are unshakably assured that God is near.