Day 3 of 6 — Pioneering Faith. About 3 minutes.
And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.
Joshua 3:13
There is a moment at the edge of every swimming pool when thinking about getting in has to end. You can stand there testing the water with your hand. You can watch everybody else. You can talk about whether the water is cold. But if you are actually going to get in, sooner or later your feet have to leave the dry ground.
The priests in Joshua 3 came to a far more serious edge. The Jordan was overflowing its banks. The water was still moving. Yet God’s instructions were not, Wait here until I make the river disappear. He told them that when their feet rested in the Jordan, the waters would be cut off.
Notice the order.
God gave His Word. They stepped. God did what only God could do.
The priests did not create the miracle by stepping into the river. Their obedience did not put God in their debt. But God’s promise did require a real response from them. They had to put their feet where His Word told them to put them.
Sometimes we reverse the order. Lord, show me exactly how this will work, and then I will obey. Take away the uncertainty, and then I will serve. Make me completely comfortable, and then I will speak.
But sometimes God has already told us enough.
Maybe you know you should be baptized. Maybe you need to begin discipleship, serve, witness to someone, make something right, forgive, give, or surrender an area of your life to the Lord. The issue is no longer whether you know what to do. The issue is whether you will do it before you know everything that comes afterward.
The priests did not receive dry ground first.
They received God’s Word first.
Then they stepped.
Growth principle: Faith acts on what God has said before it can see everything God will do.
Take it with you: Stop waiting for perfect confidence about one thing God has already made clear. Take a concrete step of obedience today.
Pause and pray: Lord, forgive me for asking You to remove every uncertainty before I obey. You have been faithful to me. Give me courage to act on what You have already shown me and trust You with what comes next. Amen.
From Sunday’s message: Faith That Steps Into the Water (Joshua 3-4)
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