Your Daily Devotional for October 13, 2006

 

October 13, 2006

 

 

Step Out

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

“Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.”

 

Joshua 1:1-6

 

 

In this passage, we see God encouraging Joshua after Moses’ death. Joshua was to be the next leader of the children of Israel. God is promising Joshua to provide for him and to give him victory during his battles. In chapter three, we see the children of Israel and Joshua facing their first obstacle. They had been following God and had come to a stop at the Jordan River.

 

The Jordan at this time of year would have been at the flood stages. Although it was not a big river, it was a swift river because of the fall in elevation especially during the flood season. This day was also a pivotal point for Israel. They had a new leader, a new purpose, and a new land. They were leaving the wilderness to now battle and build in the Promise Land. They would now have to trust God with new circumstances and challenges. God would once again stretch their faith—especially Joshua’s.

 

The command was for the priests to step out first, carrying the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was to represent the presence of God going before the people. It was to symbolize the fact that God was with them and was going to protect them. This simple act was going to determine whether or not the people trusted God enough to cross.

 

This must have been a frightening time for the priests! Here they were with God’s sacred dwelling place on their shoulders and they were supposed to step out into this swiftly moving water! I don’t know about you, but I would have been scared to death! They had to trust God that they would not stumble or fall. This showed the people that God was with them.

 

Just as the priests’ faith showed the people that God was with them, your faith is speaking to those around you today. They are watching you and evaluating whether or not they will choose to step out by faith and trust God. They are waiting to see if you will fully trust God when you are asked to step into a raging river or if you will search for another way. How they respond to God can sometimes depend on you.

 

What do people see when they look at your faith? Are you willing to step out and depend solely on God? Or do you stand at the river’s edge and worry about the outcome? When your trust is in Christ and you step out by faith in Him, He will not let you down! So, go ahead and step out in faith today!

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