Take The First Step
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. -- Joshua 3:14-17
Most of us are familiar with how God stopped the Jordan so the Israelites could cross on dry ground. But there’s one little detail that tends to get overlooked: The water didn’t stop until the priests touched it with their feet.
That’s right. They had to go forward in faith, trusting God to get them across safely. It was only when they demonstrated their faith that God stepped forward and did His part.
There’s a lesson in that for us. So often we hear God’s voice but we want to see the path clearly before we take a step out in faith. That’s not how God typically works. He wants to know that we trust Him. Really and truly.
Right about now you’re probably saying that of course you trust God. He’s God. He’s trustworthy, honest and true. But when we don’t trust Him enough to immediately obey His call on our lives, what does that say about our faith in Him?
I tell myself sometimes that it’s not God that I don’t trust, it’s myself. That is true. It’s also a convenient excuse. While I don’t always trust myself to make the right choices as I seek to follow Him, I should know by now that if I take a wrong step God will correct me. It might not always be pleasant but if I sincerely am trying to follow Him, God will guide me on the right path to bring Him glory.
There’s another reason that we don’t always take that first step. We don’t want to go. We don’t. We might not be entirely happy where we are at but we’re comfortable there. We know how it all works. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt but it was what they knew. When things got rough, they wanted to go back to what they knew rather than received the great blessings God had promised for them.
When God calls us to step out in faith, He always has something wonderful planned. But we’ve got to take the first step. Will you?
