GOD MIRACULOUSLY MAKES A WAY THROUGH THE RIVER JORDAN
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“As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.” – Joshua 1:5-6 –
When Moses, the great leader of the Israelites, is taken to Heaven, God chooses Joshua to be his successor. This man of God stood faithfully at Moses’ side throughout the forty years of wilderness wandering. God anoints Joshua to carry on the legacy of Moses and rise up to be the new leader of the people.
As this new generation of Israelites stands poised and ready to enter the Promised Land, they see before them the Jordan River. This is not a mere stream. This is a mighty river that at harvest time becomes a torrent. The people are disheartened. It will take a mighty God to work a miracle for them. Yet Joshua has steadfast faith in just such a God. He believes their Almighty God will work the miraculous.
“Joshua told the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.’” – Joshua 3:5
It is Joshua’s resolute faith that opens the way for God to do the impossible. Joshua calls upon the people to consecrate themselves… to dedicate themselves to God and His will. The Jordan River before them appears to be a seemingly impassable obstacle. Yet Joshua remembers another miraculous deliverance of God.
Many years before, their Yahweh God had parted the sea, allowing the Israelites to pass through on dry land to escape the Egyptians. Joshua has steadfast faith in this mountain moving God that He will again see them through. This omnipotent God will step in and show His mighty power on their behalf.
“Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God… 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.” – Joshua 3:9, 13
God acts when we step out in faith. The Ark of the Covenant, the glory of God’s presence with the Israelites, is brought to the edge of the Jordan. As soon as the priests step into the river, the waters stop flowing… piling in a heap upstream.
A path opens for the people to follow… and the entire Israelite nation passes through the dry riverbed to the opposite shore. This new generation sees that their God can be trusted to keep His promises. He is the One in whom they can place their unwavering faith.
“Your path led through the sea, Your way through the mighty waters, though Your footprints were not seen.” – Psalm 77:19
The Almighty One opens up an entrance for His people into this new chapter of their lives. When all the Israelites reach the other side of the river, the priests carry the Ark of the Covenant up onto the new land. The Jordan River immediately begins flowing at its torrential pace. The God of miracles once again displays His mighty power.
“He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.” – Joshua 4:24
Joshua’s steadfast faith in his all-powerful God is rewarded. The faith of the people is restored as they set out to claim this Promised Land as their own. This new generation of Israelites are convinced that their God will be with them wherever they go.
God wants to see that we believe Him for who He is and what He can do in our lives. He is our mighty God. He wants us to trust Him absolutely. When we take that step of faith, He acts… setting in motion that which only He can do. His power is manifested in miraculous ways.
Do we have the steadfast faith of Joshua? Are we trusting the Almighty One unwaveringly? Do we look to Him to work the miraculous in our lives?
