Day 6 of 6 — Pioneering Faith. About 3 minutes.
That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.
Joshua 4:6-7
Everywhere you travel, you find monuments. Some mark victories. Others honor people who sacrificed greatly. Some stand where something painful happened because a generation decided the next generation should know the story. The stone or statue is not the event itself. Its purpose is to make somebody stop, look, and ask, What happened here?
God told Israel to build exactly that kind of memorial after crossing the Jordan. Twelve stones were taken from the river and placed where future generations would see them. God even told Israel what would happen next. Their children would ask, What mean ye by these stones?
And a father would have a story to tell.
We stood in front of a flooded river. There was no way across. God told us to follow Him. The priests stepped into the water. God stopped the river, and we walked across on dry ground.
The miracle lasted for a moment.
The testimony was meant to last for generations.
Our lives leave memorials too, though usually not ones made of stone. Our children remember how we reacted during difficult seasons. Younger Christians notice whether older believers keep serving when life becomes hard. People watch what we do when the Jordan is still in front of us.
Someday the trial you are facing right now may be over. The financial strain will pass. The difficult season will change. The unanswered question will eventually have an answer. But the way you respond to God during this season may stay in someone’s memory long afterward.
Do not merely ask how you get through this.
Ask what the people coming behind you will learn about God by watching you go through it.
Today’s Jordan may become tomorrow’s story of God’s faithfulness.
Leave some stones behind.
Growth principle: Today’s step of faith can become tomorrow’s testimony of God’s faithfulness.
Take it with you: Tell someone today about one specific time God proved faithful in your life. Do not let His past faithfulness be forgotten.
Pause and pray: Lord, thank You for the times You have already carried me through. Help me remember Your faithfulness and live in such a way that those coming behind me will have a testimony worth hearing. Amen.
From Sunday’s message: Faith That Steps Into the Water (Joshua 3-4)
Recent Comments