A New Direction but the Same God 

Our oldest grandson is one of the many high school students who are graduating this year. It is a significant milestone as these young people leave one phase of their lives and commence a new and different facet of their journey. We face similar pivotal moments at various times throughout our lives – getting married, having children, changing jobs, relocating. Even as we get older, we have to deal with saying goodbye to longtime familiar seasons of life and opening ourselves up to some new stage. It may be when we become empty-nesters, when we retire, or when health issues force us to relinquish some of our independence. Life is full of graduations and commencements, moving from one chapter to the next.

Those transition times can be stressful, even scary. We are leaving what we are familiar and comfortable with while stepping out into strange and uncertain territory. Therefore sometimes we may be tempted to hang onto the past and have a hard time giving it up. We may hesitate about walking into the unknown or refuse to take those steps even though we know it is the way we need to go. It can be a difficult time in our lives.

One of the most significant graduations and commencements recorded for us in the Bible is when the Israelites were leaving the wilderness in order to take possession of the homeland God had promised to give them. It doesn’t sound like a tough transition – graduating from a life of wandering in an area where food and water were scarce to entering and settling down in a lush land described as being full of milk and honey. It seems like everyone would be ready to excitedly move forward to this new adventure.

However, it wasn’t quite that simple. For most of the Israelites, all they knew was life in the wilderness. In spite of all its drawbacks, it was home. And while they had experienced a few battles up to this time, they knew war was going to be a constant way of life for a while as they went in to conquer this new land. They were switching from survival mode to battle mode. And some of their enemies were formidable – giants and well-fortified cities. To top it off, they were facing a major change in leadership. Their longtime leader, Moses, was passing the torch to his assistant, Joshua. Everything was going to change and be different.

Maybe God’s encouragement to Joshua and the Israelites can be helpful to us as we face times of transition in our own lives, whether graduating from school or starting some other new chapter. Appropriately enough, my grandson who is graduating is named Joshua. So let’s take these words to heart which were uttered to the Bible’s Joshua. “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you…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 1:5, 9).

As the Lord was with us in the previous phase of our lives, He will be with us in the next one. He will continue to lead those who are seeking to follow Him. We may not know what lies ahead, but we know that the Lord will go with us whatever we may have to face. We don’t have to be afraid of the challenges ahead – God is fighting for us and can give us the strength we need.

Our pathway may be taking a sharp turn in a new direction, but the same faithful God who has helped us in the past will still be there to see us through this next part of life’s journey.