Step into the water

Sometimes when we look down the road in the direction that God is leading, the only thing we can see is an impossibility! That was the situation that faced Israel as Joshua prepared to lead them into Canaan, the Promised Land. As they broke camp and got ready to move, in front of them was the Jordan River and the Bible says it was 'at flood stage.' "Think of it! The Ark of the Covenant, which belongs to the Lord of the whole earth, will lead you across the Jordan River! Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe. The priests will be carrying the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth. When their feet touch the water, the flow of water will be cut off upstream, and the river will pile up there in one heap.” (Joshua 3:11-13, NLT) And sure enough, when they stepped into the water, the river stopped flowing! Both God and the man He had called into leadership were exalted that day. Joshua summarizes the occasion saying, "This was so that everybody on earth would recognize how strong God’s rescuing hand is and so that you would hold God in solemn reverence always." (Joshua 4:24, The Message)

It's a great story, but I've got to tell you that I wouldn't have wanted to be the man in the front. I wonder how far in he waded before the water receded? Why wouldn't God have just stopped the river's flow that morning so they could just walk across? I do not know! But I do know that often our spiritual journey happens in much the same way. God says, "Go," and it appears that there is no way. Then, as we are obedient, there is a way providentially made for us -- from where we are into a new and wonderful place of His purposes.

In 1977, I felt God's leading me to a new place. I was a very young preacher ready to change the world! As Bev and I packed up our little household and our new baby boy to move 2000 miles to the West, it looked like we were headed for disaster - no money in the bank, no income promised, no group to receive us. As we entered Gillette, Wyoming we did so with great anticipation of what God could do. We had an almost naive faith. We had no idea that God was sending us on that move for our benefit more than for the town to which we moved with the hope of ministry! In one year, He did so many things in our hearts - teaching us new ways to know Him, leading us through a time when our baby was desperately ill, providing for our financial situation in ways we could not have even imagined, and bringing people into our lives that taught us key lessons that we still practice today! It was hard, very hard, to leave a regular paycheck, a nice home, and a promising future for nothing more than a dream, but I am so thankful that we were willing to step into the water as God went in front of us!

Is God leading you toward a flooded river place?
Are you following obediently or screaming protests?

Follow faithfully. Keep your focus on the Lord who goes before you. He does not lead us towards the impossibilities because He is cruel, but so that we will trust Him and not rely on ourselves.

Think on this passage as you go through this day. "We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us!" (2 Corinthians 1:8-10, NIV)