Joshua 23:14:
[Joshua said,] “I am now about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and being that none of the good promises the LORD your God made to you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.
At the end of the year, most newspapers and news magazines have a retrospective highlighting the main events of the passing year. They also review the significant accomplishments of people during the past year.
But if a new magazine asked you to write such an article, what would you list as the most-outstanding events of the past year? Would you write about some notable accomplishment? Or would your article somehow bring out God’s power, love, and care being revealed in this world? For it’s valuable for us to reflect on, not only what we have done this past year, but what God has done, as well.
And so during this New Year’s Eve, we take some time to reflect on God’s faithfulness. Our Scripture reading takes us back into the history of Israel at the end of Joshua’s life. Joshua was the leader of Israel after Moses died. Moses had led God’s people from Egypt to the borders of the Promised Land. But now it was time for another to lead. And so the Lord then turned over the leadership of His people to Joshua.
Joshua was a man with much wisdom who had served under Moses. Through the years, he had gained the confidence and respect of the people, proving to be an exceptional leader. After Joshua had led the Israelites through the Jordan River, he guided them from one victory to another over the powerful enemies that controlled the land. God’s people finally dispossessed these enemies, and they subdivided the land among the 12 tribes of Israel.
In today’s Old Testament reading, we find ourselves about 30 years after Israel had first set foot in the Promised Land. In those 30 years, God had been faithful to them. Despite that, the Israelites, at times, had suffered amnesia and forgot about God. And so, according to the Old Covenant, God visited them with His judgment. But, overall, these last 30 years were years of extraordinary success.
We remember crossing the Jordan River. There, the waters to the north stood as a wall while the waters to the south continued in their downward course. We remember the capture of Jericho’s walled city. Because of God’s divine directive, the people marched around the city once a day for six days. And then, on the seventh day, after blowing the trumpets, the walls came tumbling down. We also remember the victory over the five kings at Gibeon, which was made possible by a special miracle of God. On that day, God held the sun in its course for another day until the people could defeat the enemy.
We could go on and on talking about God’s faithfulness toward Israel under Joshua’s leadership. Even Joshua himself says the evidence of God’s faithfulness was so impressive “that none of the good promises the LORD your God made to you has failed.” God had promised them the needs of life, victory, rest, and so on. And God had not failed in one of His promises.
Joshua reminded them that, while God was still faithful, they had done much grumbling and complaining. And yet, if God had still blessed them, should they expect anything different, even if he, Joshua, was now dying? No, because God’s faithfulness never fails. God’s people could be assured of His continuing presence, His patience, His love, and His blessings. Why? Because “the one who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).
Oh, how similar our experiences are to those of Israel. With another year going away, dying, and never to return, we, too, have to admit with Joshua “that none of the good promises the LORD your God made to you has failed.”
What was it God promised us? Well, listen to some of the promises that He gave: seedtime and harvest, health and protection, the necessary provisions of life, continued care, strength in weakness, and answer to prayer. But God doesn’t end there. He also promises spiritual fullness, power for service, victory over the devil, everything working together for our good, comfort in death, and togetherness in Christ.
Has God kept these promises? If you and I are honest, we must say, “Yes!” God has been faithful. As Joshua said, “none of the good promises the LORD your God made to you has failed.” All we need to do is look at our congregation, our church building, our families, our relatives, and our homes. God has, indeed, been faithful!
And we must not forget the greatest of all His promises: His forgiveness in Christ. Just think of all the sins that we have committed this past year! What if God kept a list of these sins, so they wouldn’t be erased or forgiven? We’d be in a hole so deep we could never get out!
But we do have God’s forgiveness. We hear again in the message of Christmas that “in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them. He has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19).
Christ loved us that He took on human flesh, became incarnate, to save us. How then should such gratitude toward God express itself in our lives? Such salvation from God is our most-precious treasure in life. Without it, we have no hope, no real happiness; we are even helpless. But with it, how incredible life is! What an impact this should make on us! Where can you find someone so dependable, so generous, and as faithful as our gracious God?
Have your friends been as faithful as He? How about your loved ones? How about your government? Ah, if our blessings depended only on people, oh, how miserable we would be! Maybe others can give us some needs of life. But who can provide us with all our needs, especially peace in times of trouble, lasting comfort at times of death, and assurance of joys in eternity? None of them can! Only God can. For He alone is faithful. As Scripture reminds us, God “keeps his gracious covenant with those who love him and keep his commands” (Daniel 9:4).
During the Christmas season, we have grateful hearts toward our friends and family in so many ways, don’t we? Yet, shouldn’t our gratitude to the Giver of everything good exceed the gratitude we have toward others? God is the One who made us. He watched over us through all the days of the past year. He loved us in Christ and gave us every spiritual blessing through His Word and Sacraments.
Does this not fill your heart with comfort and make you confident to face another new year? Next year being a Leap Year, we have 366 unopened pages ahead of us, which are now but mysteries to us. But we can move forward confidently. Why? Because God is faithful. That truth strengthened Joshua and the Israelites, even when Joshua was dying. This was God’s pledge of continued blessings to them. This is also our security as we go into the new year. God is faithful.
God has kept His promises to us in the past year. He has sealed these promises to us through His love in Christ. So then, why shouldn’t He continue to shower us with similar blessings next year? He is the same God. As the psalms say, God is “the same, and [His] years will never end” (Psalm 102:27). Or as God Himself assures us, “I the Lord do not change” (Malachi 3:6). There’s no reason for any of us to fear about God keeping us, providing for us, forgiving us, or saving us tomorrow, even as He has done this past year.
During the next year, the Lord is going to touch our lives many, many times. May we never be so busy with the good things of this world that we forget the great things of God. No matter what, we can confidently enter the new year. We can say with the Apostle Paul: “If God is for us, who can be against us? He did not even spare His own Son but offered Him up for us all. How then will he not also freely grant us everything?” (Romans 8:31-32). Yes, He can grant us everything, for God is all-powerful. That’s how sure our salvation in Christ is!
Despite not deserving a lick of God’s grace, God still wants to grant us everything, because He is love. He grants us everything we need, because He is faithful. This is our comfort. This is our confidence. This is our joy as we enter the new year. Amen.
