Step of Faith
‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan,
to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess’
(Joshua 3:11 NKJV)
When I read the Bible, I try to put myself into the story and imagine what it must have been like to be in that situation or walk in that person’s shoes. The people of the Bible were as human as we are, a fact that James attested to (Elijah was a man as we are - James 5:17 NLT). They were fallible human beings who had weaknesses, fears, insecurities, and emotional baggage. They messed up, made stupid decisions, were disobedient, and stumbled and fell just like we do.
The entry of the Israelites into the Promised Land is a great example of fallible human beings in the Bible. Picture the scene at the Jordan River. The Israelites’ wanderings in the wilderness are now over. The promise given centuries before in Abraham’s time is about to come to pass. Approximately two million people are standing behind a group of priests, who are bearing the ark of the covenant on their shoulders. Symbols of God’s power and His covenant care for His people are stored in the ark - Aaron’s rod, which budded as proof that God had chosen him and Moses as leaders, a pot of manna as a reminder of God’s care and provision in the wilderness, and the ten commandments handed down to Moses at Mount Sinai.
It had the gold altar for incense and the chest containing the covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. In the chest there was a gold jar containing manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant (Hebrews 9:4 CEB).
The Jordan river is not the normal Jordan River – it is at flood stage, nearly a mile wide, its waters flowing swiftly. The priests are told to step into this raging maelstrom, and it will stop flowing. How much faith did that first step take? In Joshua it says they “dipped” in the edge of the water. They did not run or march into the water; they took the smallest step possible.
And as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest) (Joshua 3:15 NKJV).
They took a baby step of faith and God met that baby step with amazing power. He cut off the flow of water and the Israelites crossed over on dry ground into the Promised Land. But God only stopped the flow once they took that first step of faith.
That the waters which came down from upstream stood still … Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan (Joshua 3:16; 17 NKJV)
It doesn’t take a mammoth leap of faith for God to work in our lives, He will meet the smallest step of faith taken nervously by one of His children.
Taking that first step of faith, however, can be really frightening. And God’s modus operandi is usually to only reveal the first step. It’s only after that first step has been taken that He will reveal the next one. He very seldom lays out the plan in full. He gives us “a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path” (Psalm 119:105 KJV). A lamp only provides light for a short distance ahead, you need to keep taking steps for the path to be further illuminated. So, take that first step and watch the way ahead start to light up.
