Summer At Sea: Week 5 Day 2
Joshua 3:9-17
9 Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. 10 This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. 11 See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. 12 Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord the Lord of all the earth set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.” 14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.
With all the recent flooding across the U.S., it is easy to recall a picture of a raging river at flood stage. How would you respond if you were told, go stand in the river?
Imagine the Israelites watching the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant approaching the river; nothing was happening; the turbulent waters were not slowing at all. It wasn’t until the priest stepped into the water that the miracle took place. Once they stepped into the water, the water stopped. It piled up in a heap some 15-20 miles up stream and the water headed down stream was gone; dry land appeared. What a miraculous site that would have been. This miracle, however, required faith and obedience. The priest had to step into the water first, then the water stopped. God often requires us to step out in faith and obedience before He opens a way for us.
When you think of your life and the storms surrounding you right now, what action step is God asking you to take? Take a moment and pray for confidence and courage to take the next step that God is desiring of you.