He's Got His Feet All Wet

 'Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to make you great in the opinion of all the Israelites so the people will know I am with you just as I was with Moses.  Tell the priests who carry the Ark of the Agreement to go to the edge of the Jordan River and stand in the water.”

Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.  Here is proof that the living God is with you and that he will force out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites.  The Ark of the Agreement with the Lord of the whole world will go ahead of you into the Jordan River.  Now choose twelve men from among you, one from each of the twelve tribes of Israel.  The priests will carry the Ark of the Lord, the Master of the whole world, into the Jordan ahead of you. When they step into the water, it will stop. The river will stop flowing and will stand up in a heap.”

 So the people left the place where they had camped, and they followed the priests who carried the Ark of the Agreement across the Jordan River.  During harvest the Jordan overflows its banks. When the priests carrying the Ark came to the edge of the river and stepped into the water,  the water upstream stopped flowing. It stood up in a heap a great distance away at Adam, a town near Zarethan. The water flowing down to the Sea of Arabah (the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed the river near Jericho.  The priests carried the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord to the middle of the river and stood there on dry ground. They waited there while all the people of Israel walked across the Jordan River on dry land.' Joshua 3:7-17 (NCV)

It was a long trip.Not just a week or two away from home. No, but forty years long! That's a long time to prepare. Imagine that, if you will. An entourage. Crossing over rough terrain. Sleeping on the ground in tents each night. Camping. Never knowing where. Never knowing when the next meal would come. It had to have been unbearable at times. It had to have been a long haul. It had to have been a stretch and a test of faith. For sure. God provided.

For surely, in God's wisdom He knew what He was doing. He always does. He took them from it. He took them through it. He took them to it. From bondage. Through the desert. To their salvation. They were a stubborn people. God choose them for a reason. He had a connection with Moses. Moses was dead. Now it was Joshua's turn. God was always there, up ahead, as the Light that was leading. He was a reminder to those who would look up. Not many would, and so it was time to pass over. It was time to reveal the leader of their tribe yet again. Before the Son was born, he was represented there in the Ark. Before His leadership, there was Joshua. Give them a sign Lord, that they would believe, and He did.

The sign was a repeat performance of what He had done for them in the beginning when He parted the Red Sea. That obstacle was big.  This was big. Joshua to be revealed to them in a miracle. To be made 'great' in the opinion of his people. To be shown to them, for those with eyes to see, that he was the chosen one. Yes. Lead on Joshua! There are battles to be fought and won Lead on Joshua! There, up ahead is Jerico! Reveal God to your people to restore the faith and hope that some had lost through their journey. We're going to need to be restored when the walls come tumbling down.

Life's journey is like that really. Long stretches of fatigue and boredom. Long nights of doubt and fear. Walls. Battles. Days without. Then the spring. Then the rain. Then the harvest season. There's Joshua. He's got this. He's got God. He's got his feet all wet.

You see, we all have to decide? Is the obstacle bigger than our view of God?

God's Glory. Amen

Source: Biblegateway.com, Biblehub.com, google.com.