Be Ready For Anything

"And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the art of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap." — Joshua 3:13, ESV


We see in Joshua 3:15 that the Jordan river at this time was at flood stage.  Yet, here is what God says that they are going to do.  They are going to cross it.  Every single person that was there with Joshua would be crossing the Jordan at the most dangerous time of year.

Here's what I wonder: what were the priests who carried the ark thinking? Honestly, to cross a river carrying a huge box seems like a physical challenge for Navy Seals.  Yet, this is exactly what they were told they were going to do.  But here's the difference: when their first toe touched the water, the river would be held back.  And so what did they do? They picked up the ark and walked into the river seeing the miraculous happen.

Understand this: the ark of the covenant was the representation of the presence of God for the people of Israel.  The priests walked with the representation of God's presence and the people saw the difference that God's presence made.  They saw the miraculous because God was with them.  He did for them what he had done for the ancestors at the Red Sea.  They got to see it first-hand instead of just hearing about it.

So here's the main thing that hit me as I read this passage: Be ready for anything.  Be ready for the crazy things that God will ask you to do WITH him.  He did not tell the Israelites to cross the Jordan by themselves.  Rather, he made it very clear to take the ark of the covenant and to send that ahead of the people to accomplish the miraculous before the people.  The priests that carried the ark had the best seats for the miraculous.  They saw the river completely stop as they walked with in God.  They experienced what no one else in that huge moving city of people got to experience.

So be ready for anything.  Since God can do the impossible, and we are walking with him, we will run into impossible situations.  And as scary as this can be, the best part about it is that we have the best view of the miraculous.  Be ready for anything.