Joshua 3:5-17
The Israelites were eager to enter the promised land...but first, before they could enter, before life could take a turn for the better, before things could change, they had to cross the raging flood waters of the Jordan river.
Today, in the third chapter of the book of Joshua we see the final stage of God’s people wandering in the wilderness; the stage where God’s people are finally led to a new land, the moment when they finally see things from a fresh perspective…and so there they stood, on the banks of the river, looking across to the land of promise and down to the roaring rage of a river…
…you know what, there are those times in our lives, as well, when it feels like we too are standing on the banks of a raging river… times when it seems like we are unable to go forward because of the chaos and overflow…times when our life seems to roar like a flooded river and our souls long for the promise of a peaceful new kind of land.
“Get ready,” Joshua said, “tomorrow we will cross the river, and the Lord will do great things for you.” There it is - the good news we need to hear, the block of hope on which we can build...
...that just like the Israelites, as we take steps forward, as we take faithful steps into the future, as we trust in God’s presence in our lives, even when circumstances may sometimes appear unfavorable, like a murky river; what today’s story tells us is that God goes before us into the flood waters of life and stands in the middle of the stormy river and calms the swirling, raging chaos.
What today’s story tells us is that when we come to a difficult stretch on our road, when we encounter obstacles in our attempt to become what God wants us to be, when we stand at the banks of the river and look across to that peaceful place where God wants us to be…we need not forget to place our faith in God’s presence, and TRUST that, in due time, GOD WILL help us CROSS the RIVER.
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