Deeper

Scripture:
Joshua 3:15-17 “…and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water…the waters which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap…And the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan.”

Observation:
This was a “God moment” in the life of the people of God and their leader Joshua. Moses had died. Joshua was appointed his successor. They had been in the wilderness a really long time. God had brought them to the banks of the Jordan and they had to get to the other side into the Land that God had promised. There is so much going on in this story but what grabs me in the stage of life that I am in is the point where the feet are dipped into the water. I can’t imagine what that moment had to be like. The river was overflowing (v.15). It wasn’t like a little creek in the back yard. This was a huge river that was running full steam. I think there are multiple things that lead them to actually following through on such a seemingly impossible mission. 1) God had brought them that far. They had seen Him at work for years and knew that was for them. 2) Joshua was a great leader. I think he was a little nervous about walking in Moses shadow but he did not let that paralyze him. He led anyway. 3) The glory and presence of God was before them. They had the ark and it went first. It was the thing that held the presence of God for them. It represented Him and they put Him first just as God had told them to do. 4) They took the step into the water. There was that moment when there was nothing else to do but obey and so they obeyed. Then God did exactly what He said He would do. The river stopped and they all walked across on dry ground. I bet their experience with God was deeper that day than what I can even imagine.

Application:
My application is pretty simple today. I want to thank God for all the times He has been faithful in hard seasons of my life. There have been plenty of times when I have thought the river was too much for me and it was. In some of those moments I never stepped in and I think I missed out on something God had for me. There have been other times where God has given me the grace to dip my feet in. He has never let me drown. So I thank God today for all the times He has taken me deeper.

In remembering those times I want to grow in my faithfulness to embrace more rivers and let God take me even deeper. I want Him to make me more like Jesus and have as much of me as possible. I want my eyes to be open to see Him in the midst of huge moments and I want to step in. He has brought me this far. He will help me overcome fear. I will keep Him in front. I will step in.

Prayer:
I know that You are good and that you will carry me. Help me to step in and go deeper with You.

— Doug Hunt, Pastor of Worship/Programming