Step Into the Water - First

I tend to over-spiritualize. I know this about myself.

This morning was a prime example.

I'm laying in bed and I roll over to look at the clock. 5:23. I am tired. And kind of blank. I have a few ideas on my mind for my blog, but if it ain't Spirit-led then I don't need to be writing it. So I start to pray and ask for clarity.

I hear, "Step into the water first."

Say what? Hello?

Step into the water? Then I remember. Last night. The boy's Bible story - The Crossing of the Jordan (Joshua 3).

I'm not ashamed to say, "Praise God for kiddie Bibles!"
This girl learns so much. *grin*

Let me paint - there's a picture of a distraught little boy (Joshua) sitting along a bank, looking into a river of rushing water (big, smiley goldfish are popping up out of the river and Joshua has a puppy. Grant looked at me and said, "Is that Joshua? How old was he? Did he really have a puppy?")

Umm. No.

Here's the story as I read it to the boys...

"The Lord said, 'Joshua, be strong and brave! Do not be afraid. I will be with you wherever you go.' Joshua then told the people, 'Tomorrow, God will do amazing things.' The Israelites prayed and believed God would perform a miracle for them to enter the Promised Land.

The next day, Joshua told the priests to go to the river and step into the water. The brave priests obeyed Joshua. They carried the Holy Box (The Ark of the Covenant) from the Holy Tent to show that God was with them. At the moment they stepped into the River, the water stopped flowing".......

I paused.

"Mom? Finish the story." Grant said.

"Oh.... "And all the people of Isreal crossed the Jordan River on dry ground."

Great story. The devotional last night was really more about Bravery, God's provision and the Faith of God's people. But the part that stopped me was THOSE PRIESTS.

Can you imagine?

I bet you the priests went to bed thinking, "O.K. So when we wake up, the water will be parted, then we will carry the Ark on over." Or...."Once we get there, the water will calm down and start to lower, then we'll know when to start walking." Or..."I bet Joshua will go first. He'll test it all out (since this was his big idea) and we'll follow behind him - on dry ground."

Nope.

Joshua 3:15 says, "The Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest." Well, it was harvest. Rushing, flooding water.

"Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground." Joshua 3:15-17

Glory.

How many times do I not step forward because the water hasn't stopped rushing? How many opportunities have I missed because I get to the water's edge and think, "Wait a minute. This must not be what I'm suppose to do. I thought the land would be dry."

The Lord sometimes wants me to get my feet wet first - to step into the rushing water, in Faith, no tangible blessing in sight, before He reveals His plan.

That's hard to do.

But can you imagine how pleased God was with THOSE PRIESTS?
Well done men. Way to believe Me.

I want to have faith like that.

So this morning, He called me to step into the water first (or out of bed), before he revealed His plan. Yes, this is a teeney-tiny thing in the grand scheme of obedience, but I want to be obedient in the little things, too.

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

What is it that the Lord is calling you to step into?
You know it may look crazy, right? Like rushing, flood water crazy.

But He will not leave you. Or forsake you. That is guaranteed.