Set Foot in the Waters

As soon as the priests....set foot in the Jordan, it's waters...will be cut off. (Joshua 3:13)

     The Israelites were not to wait in the camp until the Jordan was opened but to "walk by faith" (2 Cor. 5:7 KJV).  They were to break camp, pack up their belongings, form a marching line, and actually step into the river before it would be opened.
     If they had come down to the riverbank and then stopped, waiting for the water to divide before stepping into it, they would have waited in vain.  They were told to "set foot in the Jordan" before "its waters...will be cut off."
     We must learn to take God at His word and walk straight ahead in obedience, even when we can see no way to go forward.  The reason we are so often sidetracked by difficulties is that we expectect to see barriers removed before we even try to pass through them.
     If we would only move straight ahead in faith, the path would be opened for us.  But we stand still, waiting for the obstacles to be removed, when we ought to go forward as if there were no obstacles at all.  from Evening Thoughts
-excerpt from Streams in the Desert

I just thought that was so good that I wanted to share it.  These past couple of weeks have not been easy.  It's the rainy season here in Arequipa and it reminds me of March in Boston.  But when I lived in Boston I didn't have to walk outside everyday for extended periods of time in flooded streets.  And New Englanders are used to bad weather, Arequipeans are not.  Therefore, work has slowed down a bit - some people haven't come out for the rain, others found new jobs, we can't teach the kiddos in the park...because it's outdoors, etc.  I'm beginning to understand how my dad feels when he's out of work.  Like my worth is wrapped up in what I do or what I can create.  But I know that's not true.  God gives us rest and rain, because it's a healthy part of our existence and development.

I look back at so many times I had a helpless spirit because I was never really trained to push past difficulties.  If things weren't easy, or not naturally working out, well then maybe it wasn't "God's will".  There are very clear times when things are not God's will, and only a rare few when He speaks in an almost audible voice about a specific direction, but now that we're in the inbetween time, the time after arriving to this point and of the doing, He's not always so obvious.  These are the times when we should trust in who He has made us to be and to where he has called us, but more importantly in who He is.  If there are obstacles, we shouldn't ask...well we can, but we'll learn through the process, that we have no need to ask "why did you bring me here or to this point for there to be these problems?"

I've done a lot of thinking about Joseph lately and even re-read his story in Genesis. I love that on more than one occasion, especially when things did not go to Joe's favor, the Bible says that God was with him.  When he was sold into slavery and then thrown into jail even later, God was with him.  God is faithful; He accomplished the visions that He gave to Joseph and was faithful to save a remnant of the Isrealites through the famine so that He could make Abraham's decendents numerous.  The real point of the story is that God is faithful, just, good, holy, faithful and restorative.  I also like the points about Joseph.  I only hope I can be as valient as he; as committed and determined as he was throughout all of the obstacles.  Even if I'm not, God is still encompasses all of those characteristics that I mentioned before. 

Whether we weather obstacles in work, in relationships, as an individual or part of a family - it's less about the rain and more about God's plan and presence in the world...more about our reactions to the situation, trusting that God is good and sovereign which will allow us to push forward - to step into the water and watch how His restorative will comes to pass.