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4/11/2010 - The Power Of Getting Your Feet Wet Joshua 3:14
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The Power Of Getting Your Feet Wet
Reference: Joshua 3:14 So the people left their camp to cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them. 15 It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge, 16 the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam, which is near Zarethan. And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was dry. Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho.
Observation: There are so many important things we can observe from this passage. Notice that the priests, those who minister before God on behalf of the people, had to go first, ahead of the rest. As ministers, we need to be ready, not simply to go where we are asking others to go spiritually, but to be ready to go there first. That the leaders must proceed the others is an important principle that, I believe, God honors.
We can see from this passage that, sometimes, God does not act until we get our feet wet. There are times that God will call us as leaders not to simply sit on the river bank and wait for the water to stop but to put our feet in the water, under His direction, and wait for the answer to come.
It is instructive as well that when they stepped in the water stopped. Yet, because it was held up far upriver, it must have taken some time for the flow to finish coming past where they were standing. We need to realize that when we act in faith God very well may be working the answer, even as it may take some time for us to see it. We can not give up. We need to stay obedient and stand as long as God tells us to stand. Finally, notice that they carried the Ark--the place of God’s very presence. Never forget that we are not alone and should never feel like we are. We need to move and act with the Lord’s presence always with us. If we don’t have the Ark, don’t move. Wait until you sense that God is moving with you. Otherwise, what is the point?
Application/Confession: I tend to be that riverbank sitter. I want God to work it all out before I act. I am learning what it means to walk in faith and vision and I want to do it more.
PRAYER: Lord, help me to trust You like these priests did. If You ask me to get my feet wet, I will.
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