Read Joshua 3

“And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap.” (Joshua 3:13)

God was with the nation of Israel every step of the way into the Promised Land. Some of those steps were simple, others were difficult, while others required full faith and confidence in God to perform a miracle. The step into the large and turbulent Jordan River was one of those steps of faith.

It had been over 40 years since the crossing of the Red Sea, when God allowed Israel to cross through on dry ground toward freedom from their captivity in Egypt. Yet, this was the experience of their fathers, not theirs, for they were all but children then! Now, God was calling them to trust Him in their own journey through the waters into freedom. God was preparing to show His glory uniquely in their journey of faith.

But what was the act of faith? A step. The priests would step into the Jordan River with the ark of the covenant upon their shoulders. As soon as they stepped in, God said He would stop the rivers miles upstream so all of Israel could cross through.

But they had to step in first. Note that. They had to step in first.

How lubricious to logic! How silly it must have sounded! Did some protest? Perhaps they said, “Not so LORD! We will step in after You stop the waters. If we step in now, we may lose everything!"

Yet, God does not operate on our terms of logic, does He? Rather, He calls us out to trust in His promises so we can behold His wonders and glory. He calls us to walk by faith — to trust His Word and He will do the rest.

Is this story not the same as the Apostle Peter's experience walking on water in the storm with the Lord? It is in every way! Peter had to step out of the boat first before he would walk on the sea. And so, too, Israel had to step into the Jordan first before it would be miraculously stopped up.

While you're waiting on the Lord, He may be waiting on you! Step out in faith, Christian!

This may be hard to believe, but the storm around you is irrelevant when Christ has called you forth. The raging river in front of you is irrelevant when God has said He will grant you free passage. Take that step of faith. Or do you not trust Him?

That is always the question. That is always the test. It's not whether God will be faithful. He is always faithful! It's whether we trust His faithfulness in the process.

Therefore, Beloved, it doesn't matter what is before you, if God has called you into it, take that step! Stop worrying about the mountains which must be moved. Let God move the mountains, but you, just take that step of faith! — for "tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you." (Joshua 3:5)

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