I Am With You, Wherever You Go
We do a lot of going at Christmas. We go to work, to airports, to relatives’ houses, to candlelight services, and back home again. The routes change from year to year, but the promise of God does not. Across generations and covenants, one steady thread: God with us.
Joshua’s moment—and ours
When Moses’ mantle passed to Joshua, he stepped into leadership that felt larger than his nameplate. God didn’t hand him a motivational poster; He gave him a promise and His presence. Joshua’s courage wasn’t about gritting his teeth; it was about trusting God.
Most of us don’t have titles like “leader of Israel,” but if you follow Jesus, someone is following you. Little eyes at the breakfast table. A coworker who knows you pray. A neighbor who watches you love your people. Discipleship is leadership, and God’s promise to Joshua echoes into our ordinary weekdays: I am with you.
A word about
“Be strong and courageous”
Can I confess something? I hesitated to include “Be strong and courageous” anywhere in this project. To me, it can feel like a Christian cliché on mugs and keychains and I never want Thrive Family Life to be about handing out slogans when what we need is Scripture.
So I prayed. I sat with the text. And the Lord was kind to show me: my hesitation said more about my own weakness than about His Word. (No surprise there!) Joshua needed the reminder three times. Not because God talks in soundbites, but because fear is loud and we forget fast. Jesus repeats the same reality to His disciples in a new grammar—not “I will be with you,” but “I am with you.” The Spirit had come. Presence wasn’t a future hope; it was a present reality.
That’s why we included the banner in our Christmas Box that says,
Be Courageous.
Be Courageous.
Be Courageous.
It’s not hype; it’s a habit. It’s the need for truth repeated until our hearts believe it.
Emmanuel in motion
This year’s Christmas Gift Box is built around that steady presence:
God with us, as we come and go.
You’ll see it in stories and symbols:
A refugee family’s testimony that bears witness to the Lord’s nearness in every crossing and new beginning.
A Dovely branded keepsake reminding us that God is making new homes and that your purchase helps welcome families with early learning and job support.
Simple, tactile reminders—Scripture on skin (temporary tattoos), scents that travel, bulbs that root and bloom in winter—each chosen to preach to our senses: He is here.
Christmas is the celebration of Presence. Jesus came near, and by His Spirit, He still is—in carpool lanes and checkout lines, in crowded rooms and quiet kitchens, in the ache of change and the relief of rest. Wherever you go this season, you do not go alone.
A prayer for your home
Lord Jesus, thank You that Your nearness is not a feeling but a promise.
Teach our hearts to repeat what You’ve promised until courage grows.
As we come and go this season, let our homes and our hands bear witness:
You are with us, wherever we go.
Amen.
