The First Step

How do we know where God wants us to be, what he wants us to be doing, how we are to serve him. Do we wait for a sign, for opportunities to spring up before us or do we do what we think is best, even when it seems to be failing?

Israel’s priests would have suffered, I’m sure, the same thoughts as they prepared to cross the Jordan. They’d heard stories growing up of that great act of Exodus, when God parted the waters so that his people could cross over, but they had not seen it first hand. Now, 40 years later, they were being ordered to carry Israel’s most precious treasure in to the mighty river Jordan. Not only did they have to cross a river but they had to cross a large river in flood.

The priests walked down to the bank of the river and stepped out (literally and figuratively) in faith. We read in Joshua 4 that

“as soon as the priests ... feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing”

The important thing to note is that the river did not dry up before the priests began to cross. As commanded they simply kept on walking into the river, yet as SOON as their feet touched the river it stopped flowing. It was God’s plan, yet the river was still there when they started forward.

Today, do we wait for too much detail, for the path set before us to be brilliantly clear before we set off? Or do we, as these priest did, step forward with faith even when the path before us is murky and full of obstacles. If you do not take that first step then you may never find out whether it is the correct path, but if you do then it will soon become obvious whether it is or not. As my Pastor said on Sunday:

“If you live without risk, then you risk not living”