And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’”
So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground. (Joshua 3:7–8, 14–17)
Can you imagine being one of the first twelve to set foot in that raging river, wondering if the waters would stop or if you would drown? It would be easy to lose hope that God could do what he said he would. We might even wonder that today in our current circumstances.
The gap in the water was dependent on the priests’ willingness to take a step into the river before the waters parted.
In what areas of your life might God be asking you to be an active participant? In what areas of your life is he asking you to trust him? Is he asking you to take a faithful step before you see the final picture?
