“Joshua told the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.’” Joshua 3:5 (NIV)
“And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.”
Joshua 3:13 (NIV)
Two years ago our senior pastor began a series titled “Step In.” During that time, he referred to the passages above when God addressed Joshua, after Moses’ death, telling the Israelites to “consecrate themselves” because they needed to get ready to see the amazing things God was going to do for them. However, there was one command they had to follow first in order for the amazing things to be seen. They had to step into the Jordan and begin their journey over to the Promised Land before God would begin to work.
When I think about where God had our family two years ago, at the beginning of that series, we were very much like the Israelites. We hadn’t been wandering the desert for 40 years, but we did have a decision to make: Step into the river and pursue the path God wanted us to take to our Promised Land, or continue circling around the desert because of fear. In order to walk into our destiny, we had to first consecrate ourselves and then, take that first step, into a very wide river with a strong current that could take us under. We chose to step into the river and we saw God do amazing things in our lives.
It’s two years later… and our pastor is starting a series titled “The Promise.” I have to admit, at first I was scared to think about starting another journey. While God had done amazing things for us, to have to go back and relive that journey while it was still fresh in our minds wasn’t something I wanted to do. I could still feel the ripping and pulling away of my “self” which while it produced many blessings, there was also pain involved. I wasn’t ready for God to start ripping and pulling away more of me that needed to be discarded in order for His destiny in my life to start shining through.
However, after wrestling a little with God which sounded something like this: “God, You know I want to obey You more than anything… even if it hurts. I don’t mind dying to myself. In fact, I’m starting to like it because I know the results will make me more beautiful, but are You sure we have to do this now? I can’t rest a little more first? Catch my breath? I know this is a good thing, but it hurts and I’m still a raw.”
It was then I realized a few truths I’d missed when first introduced to the promise. Come back next time and I will share what God reminded me of.
© Cheri Swalwell 2016