One of the greatest stories of the Old Testament is the crossing of the Red Sea by Moses and the Israelites. Immortalized by Charlton Heston in the "Ten Commandments" its a dramatic scene where Moses stretches out his staff and the waters roll back in a heap, a depiction that was Hollywood's finest for the times.But another equally dramatic miracle was the crossing of the Jordan River by Joshua, son of Nun.
Moses died before reaching the Promised Land,though God allowed the great prophet to view it from atop of Mount Nebo. Afterwards, Joshua was installed as Moses successor and was commanded to "Be strong and courageous because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them" (Joshua 1:6).
What's equally impressive about the crossing of the Jordan was that it just happen to be at flood stage during the harvest time. But as soon as the priests arrived to the river's edge, "the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam...while the water flowing down to the Sea of Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off (Joshua 3:15-16). Just imagine that! I love to picture things like that in my mind and it's even more dramatic then crossing the Red Sea, especially because they walked over on dry ground! As far as I know, riverbeds are quite muddy, especially during flood stage, so this was just another part of this amazing miracle.
But what does this have to do with us today in the 21st century? No one is carrying arks or entering a Promised Land--or are we? In terms of today, the promised land can be any vision, dream or promise that the Lord has given us.Will we face challenges? Most certainly. I had a vision to be a published author, and it has taken a lot of conquering fears and learning skills to obtain a glimmer of that promise. I've had to cross many a Jordan River at flood stage. Just when it seemed impossible to cross, God came up with a plan and parted the waters.
Recently, I was given some very challenging news at work. I'm an art teacher for two schools and I worked with over 700 children this year in 32 classes. To say that it was challenging would be an understatement. But now I'll be having more children and 36 classes next year,over 800 students--now I call that flood stage! At first I was frightened at the prospect, but now I've committed it to the Lord in prayer and am awaiting a miracle come September.I'll let you know what happens, but no matter the outcome, I know that God will lead me safely though it and into His land of promise.I need to remind myself that like Joshua I don't have to fear the Canaanites, the Ammonites, the Hittites and all the other -ites out there. I may waver and get nervous, but I'm excited to see what God will do. So how about your Jordan Crossing? What do you believe God can do for you?
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