This morning I sat down for my quiet moment with God. I say ‘moment’ because with four kids and a house to keep up with sometimes it is literally just a moment, but God knows I make the effort. Anyway, so I opened the Bible to Joshua 3. I read the entire chapter. It is about Joshua crossing the Jordan river. A few things stood out to me that I wanted to share.
Recently, Glenn and I have been praying and asking the Lord for direction in our lives in some specific areas. We have prayed and prayed and I confess I have been waiting for some big billboard to come and tell me what to do, exactly! I know that’s not likely to happen, as I know God doesn’t usually work that way. Usually, it’s in smaller ways. Anyway, something in this chapter in Joshua that stood out to me is that God told the people of Israel to cross the Jordan. They were unsure, actually very doubtful, that this would happen. The river was at flood stage. I am told that it was more than a mile wide at flood stage. It was not a quiet flowing river either, we are talking about a rough river and it would be impossible to cross as it was. But God says, take the people and walk into the Jordan. That had to take great faith! They were facing certain death by doing that. But they were obedient to God and He stopped the waters and they crossed.
How this spoke to me about my situation is that I have been waiting for God to tell me when and where and how to do what He has called me to. But in this story God told the Israelites the day before they were to cross the Jordan, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” Then the next day they did what the Lord told them to do. There wasn’t a lot of deliberation or debate about whether or not they should follow God or when to do it, they just did it. There are defiantly times when God asks us to sit and listen and pray for a season, but then there are times when He tells us to just keep moving. Proverbs 30:21 says, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” That verse implies the you have to be moving before God can tell you which way to walk.
I am not saying we should make rash decisions and do things without consulting God about it. However, there are times when God has told us a million times what He has called us to do, but we have failed to do it out of fear. Usually we are waiting for an angel to appear and tell us exactly what to do. That doesn’t happen much, more often than not we have to start in the direction that we believe that God is leading us and then wait for Him to give us directions while we walk. My father in law says “if you seek to be in God’s will, He will not let you get out of it”. You have to trust that God will keep you in His will if you are honestly seeking it.
Is there something God has put on your heart to do? Is there a dream you have yet to fulfill because you are waiting for the “perfect time”? Pray and seek God’s will in the situation and then step out in faith and see if God is opening the door for you to walk through. He will make it clear if you are heading in the wrong direction.
Armloads of Blessings 