Going without Knowing (Joshua Study Post 10)

Going without Knowing!

Read Joshua 3:9-17

We read in these verses that the Lord gives specific instructions for the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant to lead the way as the Israelites enter into the Jordan river. He tells them further that as soon as the priests carrying the Ark step foot in the river, "its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap."..... He doesn't tell them HOW the water will be stopped. He doesn't tell them HOW their miracle is going to happen. Just that it is going to happen. That so relates to our lives, doesn't it? How often does God ask us to trust Him, even when we don't know where our miracle is going to come from? I was discussing last week with a few young ladies that I had breakfast with about how we try SO hard to figure out WHAT the plan is that God has for our lives. We pray to know what it is. We pray for it to happen...it's a big deal (as it should be!). But I told them that I was starting to consider that maybe God doesn't want us to try so hard to figure out WHAT the plan is...maybe He is waiting for us to just trust that there IS a plan. So it was with the Israelites. They knew God had a plan. Joshua told them what God planned to do. Just not how He planned to do it! Once again, the priests and the Israelites remained faithful! Not knowing, they still did as they were instructed and stepped into the raging river that looked like it wasn't going anywhere, and once again, God proved His faithfulness and power. He was calling the Israelites to step out in faith while the water was still raging. So many times we want the ground to be dry before we even step out.

Parting the waters and causing them to "cut off and stand up in a heap" wasn't the only miracle that happened when they crossed the Jordan. The Word also says that God allowed the Israelites to cross over on dry ground. The ground that had just, moments before, been a riverbed was now completely dry! When the Israelites stepped out in faith God made it so that they didn't even have to cross over through all the mud and muck of a wet, soggy riverbed. How great is He??

Now, just a bit about the Ark of the Covenant and the symbolism I see here in these verses...We already know that the Ark of the Covenant represented the very presence of God. In this instance we see that the priests stand holding the Ark allowing all of the people to pass over....in essence, saving their lives. I think that we can liken this to what God gave us through Jesus' life on the cross. Jesus (the ark) held back death (the Jordan) so that we could be saved. The Israelites had to trust Joshua and keep their focus on and follow behind the Ark that was holding back that river so that they could cross over into the Promised Land. Just like them, we have to keep our eyes on and follow our victorious Jesus and OUR river of impossibility will dry up so that we can cross over into our Promised Land! I know i've said this before, buuuutttt..... I love that! I love finding stuff that is "hidden" in the Word!! :)

So, as we think about the trials and "mud and muck" we are facing in our lives, maybe we should pray and ask God to help us have the faith and focus of the Israelites. Courage to step out, in faith with the river still raging, and trust Him to dry it all up and lead us into the plan He has for us.....even when we have no idea what it is!