I remember a long time ago when reading Joshua 3 that I was surprised that God had Joshua lead the people of Israel to the edge of the Jordan River and then camp for three more days!! Now they had been wandering in the desert for 40 years...it wasn't like they weren't ready to go, eh? But yet, Joshua obviously heard God say, "Wait"..He apparently needed to give them more instruction and that instruction was to "Sanctify themselves for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you!" I looked up sanctify and was reminded that a person is sanctified when he or she lives according to God's purpose and design...oh, what a challenge but oh, how important it is to me to seek to be sanctified! And in my mind, that involves seeking to grow deeper in love with the Lord by spending time with Him so that I can hear His voice whether it is loud or a whisper...and then I will know when he says, "Take the next step in this journey, Dear One!"
God said that the Jordan will not part UNTIL the priests step into the river! Only with that step of faith will the river part so the Israelites could go through. There it is again...obedience!
I read this in Streams in the Desert the other day. "The Israelites were not to wait in the camp until the Jordan was opened but to 'walk by faith' (2 Cor. 5:7). They were to break camp, pack up their belongings, form a marching line, and actually step into the river before it would be opened. If they had come down to the riverbank and then stopped, waiting for the water to divide before stepping into it, they would have waited in vain. They were told to 'set food in the Jordan' before 'its waters...will be cut off.' We must learn to take God at His Word and walk straight ahead in obedience, even when we can see no way to go forward. The reason we are so often sidetracked by difficulties is that we expect to see barriers removed before we even try to pass through them. If we would only move straight ahead in faith, the path would be opened for us. But we stand still, waiting for the obstacle to be removed, when we ought to go forward as if there were no obstacle at all."
What's your Jordan River? I know He is working on my wounded heart to teach me obedience in spite of my circumstances. I am seeking to be sanctified...and Satan is hard at work trying to not let me be! Sound familiar to you? I want to put my feet in that Jordan River and am planning to step on Satan on my down the riverbank!
God said that the Jordan will not part UNTIL the priests step into the river! Only with that step of faith will the river part so the Israelites could go through. There it is again...obedience!
I read this in Streams in the Desert the other day. "The Israelites were not to wait in the camp until the Jordan was opened but to 'walk by faith' (2 Cor. 5:7). They were to break camp, pack up their belongings, form a marching line, and actually step into the river before it would be opened. If they had come down to the riverbank and then stopped, waiting for the water to divide before stepping into it, they would have waited in vain. They were told to 'set food in the Jordan' before 'its waters...will be cut off.' We must learn to take God at His Word and walk straight ahead in obedience, even when we can see no way to go forward. The reason we are so often sidetracked by difficulties is that we expect to see barriers removed before we even try to pass through them. If we would only move straight ahead in faith, the path would be opened for us. But we stand still, waiting for the obstacle to be removed, when we ought to go forward as if there were no obstacle at all."
What's your Jordan River? I know He is working on my wounded heart to teach me obedience in spite of my circumstances. I am seeking to be sanctified...and Satan is hard at work trying to not let me be! Sound familiar to you? I want to put my feet in that Jordan River and am planning to step on Satan on my down the riverbank!
Lord, make the waters part! Show me the way!
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