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Is there a raging river ahead in your path? Is it a circumstance or a situation that you can’t go around . . . but you must go through? Is it an overwhelming barrier that you know you can’t navigate on your own? And in some ways, is it made even worse by the knowledge that it is the very path that God is leading you to take?
It was spring, just like it is now. And like the years before, the winter’s snow in the mountains of Lebanon at the head of the Jordan River was melting and the rushing water was causing its banks to overflow. If you were planning to cross the Jordan River, you most definitely would not have chosen to do so in the spring. The waters of the river were at their most treacherous point.
The Israelites had spent the prior forty years as a nomadic people living in the wilderness. They were far more accustomed to blowing sands than they were to flowing waters. i would venture very few of them even knew how to swim.
They had become fairly proficient at moving over one million people from place to place on dry land. But they were not river dwellers. They had no experience in crossing a river. The adult generations who had walked across the Red Sea were now dead. And those who were now on the journey did not know the “tried-and-true tips” of river crossings:(1)
· Always err on the side of caution – do not attempt to cross deep rivers with fast currents.
· Do not cross deep rivers that are more than thigh deep. The chance of losing your balance is too great.
· Wear a personal flotation device.
· Wear hiking boots. Never cross barefoot or in sandals. They do not protect your toes and become separated from your feet in a strong current.
· Wear shorts for river crossings. Long clothing can create a drag.
· Face upstream and shuffle sideways.
Yes, the Israelites didn’t know the do’s and don’ts. And if they had, they would have been even more convinced that now was the wrong time. All they knew was that God had said that “today” He was leading them to cross the Jordan to enter into His Promised Land. They knew it wasn’t some other day; it was that day. And on that day, they responded as a people of faith . . . putting complete trust in their God.(2)
The Jerichoites were fully aware the Israelites were camped on the other side of the Jordan. They knew the Israelite spies had recently entered their walled city. But the Jerichoites did not bother to assemble their fighting men on the western bank of the Jordan River to defend against them. They were certain the Israelites would never attempt a crossing during the spring. And yet God had said that was exactly what He was leading them to do.
We often make the mistake of seeing what we perceive to be “bad” timing, impenetrable barriers and overwhelming obstacles as reasonable excuses for not doing what God has told us to do. But the reality is that “bad” timing from a human perspective and impossible obstacles are exactly what God uses to magnify His power.
Consider Joshua and the twelve priests. Joshua, their relatively new leader, had just told the people he was leading to do a pretty outlandish thing. He had said, “Thus saith the Lord….” The twelve priests, in obedience to the Lord’s command, hoisted the most sacred possession of the people of Israel and stepped from the bank into the edge of the flowing waters of that raging river. And over one million pairs of eyes stood there and watched them.
This was either about to be a HUGE miracle, a great embarrassment, or a disastrous defeat. If this was not God’s plan and He did not come through, Joshua and the priests would literally have been sunk. The Israelites would turn on Joshua for having misled them. They would ridicule the priests for destroying or damaging the Ark. The Jerichoites would mock the Israelites for their obvious stupidity, having attempted something so ridiculous, and would claim their undisputed victory over this ignorant people. And the name of God would be defamed throughout the land. There was a LOT at stake in this act of faithful obedience. There always is!
But as soon as the sole of the priests’ feet stepped into the river, it immediately became a dry path – not over time, but in an instant! And God did not choose to make the way in the same manner in which He had parted the Red Sea forty years earlier. There was no blowing wind, as was the case back then.(3) God had chosen to demonstrate His glory through the presence of the Ark, representing His Word, His might and His mercy.
Instead of creating a pathway with a wall of water on each side, He chose to stop the flow of the water upriver. Downriver, the waters continued to flow on to the Dead Sea, leaving the river bed dry – not muddy.
God did exactly what was needed. He always does! He accomplished it according to His plan and His purpose. Just like He was able to cause water to flow from a rock,(4) He was able to make rock appear where there had been water. He made a solid path in the midst of what had been raging waters.
It is worthy to note that the Ark not only entered into the river first. The priests then moved it to the center of the river and stayed in that spot until all one million plus people had passed onto the west bank. Take heart as God leads you in your journey through a raging river. He not only goes before you leading you to take that first step of faith, He remains right in your midst throughout it all.
Yes, there will be that moment when if He doesn’t come through, you will fear that you are about to fail BIG time. But at that very moment, when He does come through, He will plant your feet on a solid path and stay right there in Your midst as You enter into His promise.
Walk with the courage and the confidence of those priests. Your God is faithful and His path is solid – even through a raging river.
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Portions of this post have been taken from chapter 8 of my book Possessing the Promise.
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(1) https://www.liveabout.com/safety-tips-for-crossing-rivers
(2) Joshua 3:11-17
(3) Exodus 14:21
(4) Exodus 17:6
Copyright © 2023 Kenneth A. Winter All rights reserved.
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