Joshua 3

“And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap." So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho.

(Jos 3:13-16)

I love the picture that we get here in this passage. It is a beautiful illustration of what it means to walk by faith rather than sight. Joshua and the Israelites had God’s promise. It was a promise of protection, a promise of guidance, a promise that ALL of the Promised Land would be theirs. Now their faith in that promise was to be tested.

Imagine for a moment that you are Joshua, and as you approach the Jordan River with over 2 million people following, you realize that it look the same as ever. You start to wonder… is it all real? Is God really going to get us across? Did He really speak to me, or was I just hearing things?

Joshua chose to see with eyes of faith. Walking by sight, they would have all turned around, viewing the river as impassable, and the situation as impossible. How often do we do just that? We are following the Lord as he leads us onward, and as soon as we reach that first challenge, that first difficulty, we freeze… and all too often we GIVE UP.

Eyes of faith meant that regardless of the circumstances, they would believe what God had said. Eyes of faith meant that the Lord would go before them, and they would follow Him wherever he went. The priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant were the first ones into the water. I wonder if they were scared that the current might make them stumble and fall, maybe even drop the ark. Regardless of how they “felt” they went in, believing God’s promise.

As soon as their feet sank into the water the river divided, and the waters “piled up” to one side. Not a moment sooner, not when it was too late… but RIGHT ON TIME. The Lord is always on time. He is always faithful to keep His promises. All we need to do is keep following Him.

WALK BY FAITH.

BELIEVE GOD’S PROMISES.

KEEP YOUR EYES FIXED ON JESUS.

Just like the ark went before the people, Jesus will ALWAYS go before us. Follow Him!