The question we need to address now is, “What will help us keep putting one foot in front of the other, even when the way is opening up only as we step into it?”
Remember the Book of the Law
Closely connected to the three times God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous is a call for him to remember the Book of the Law, to meditate on it, and to obey it in order to be “prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8 NIV). Then, immediately following, God promises to be with him wherever he goes.
When we are pressing forward towards intimidating obstacles and we don’t know the way, there is no greater comfort than having the Lord’s presence with us and meditating on His words to us. In your forward movement, always remember the Book of the Law, and that its Author is with you wherever you go.
Understand that God’s power is causing the opposition to fear
The spies who visited Jericho brought back an encouraging report. Rahab had informed them that the same God who was inspiring courage and strength in His own people, had caused her people’s hearts to melt and courage to fail when they “heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea . . . and what [they] did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan” (Joshua 2:10 NIV).
But God was also reinforcing the worst fears of the Canaanites by replaying the Red Sea right on their doorstep. He “did to the Jordan just what He had done to the Red Sea when He dried it up . . . so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful” (Joshua 4:23,24).
The fame of our omnipotent God was causing the things (people) that the Israelites feared on the other side of the Jordan to melt in fear themselves. He was surely going ahead and ensuring victory! Perhaps this was the whole reason the Jordan crossing was needed as a first step to entering the land: to reinforce His reputation as a powerful, miracle-working God, who makes a way for His people and ensures victory!
Listen to those who have experienced God and know He will bring you safely through
Can the God who faithfully brought you this far, lead you through a flooded river and a new frontier, even if the river is wide and the new frontier is a place of giants and mountains and walled cities? Ask Caleb! Ask Joshua! These were the only two still in the company who had seen the Promised Land forty years before. And forty years later they were still saying a resounding yes! Both Caleb and Joshua were undiminished in their confidence in the God who was leading them and, therefore, in their resolve to take the Land He had promised them.
Proactively press forward remembering God’s power and faithfulness in this moment
So what actually happened? Well, unsurprisingly it happened just as the Lord had said!
“. . . the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them . . . But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge, the water above that point began backing up a great distance away . . . And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was dry . . . the priests who were carrying the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by . . . until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground” (Joshua 3:14-17 NLT). “As soon as the priests carrying the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant came up out of the riverbed and their feet were on high ground, the water of the Jordan returned and overflowed its banks as before” (Joshua 4:18 NLT).
The obedience of the Israelites and the provision of the Lord are on full display here. And in order to remember this moment, the end of Joshua 4 tells us that a monument was set up on the far side of the river. This was a testament to the power and faithfulness of God, so that future generations would know that the God who commanded them to go forward faithfully led them through with a mighty hand according to all that He had promised.
And so the conquest of the Promised Land began with a magnificent crossing at the Jordan River! Remembering God’s power, His faithfulness, and His awe-inspiring provision would enable the Israelites to be strong and courageous in their new endeavours. The same God who brought them through the Jordan, would accompany them in the Promised Land.
Maybe you too find that it’s time to prepare yourself for a crossing into unfamiliar but promised territory. There’s a work for you to do. There’s an allotment of God’s promises that He is asking you to make your own. A new day is dawning! It’s time to leave the wilderness behind and step into the Jordan!
Don’t shrink back. Take the step in front of you with courage and faith and know that the God who calls you forward is going ahead of you so you will know the way. He will overcome the obstacles, melt the opposition, and be with you as you take each step.
“When you go through deep waters, [He] will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown” (Isaiah 43:2a NLT).
