FAITH MEANS THAT WE ARE WILLING TO STEP OUT

(Read Joshua 3:5-8 NKJ)

“And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you. (6) Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the Ark of the Covenant and cross over before the people.” So they took up the “Ark of the Covenant” and went before the people. (7) And the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. (8) You shall command the priests who bear the “Ark of the Covenant”, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan.’”

Sometimes we just have to step outside of our comfort zone to truly express our faith.  Complacency is not an act of faith.  Faith was first demanded of Joshua. Joshua’s faith is seen in the fact that he tells the people to prepare themselves because “tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” Joshua himself did not know specifically how God was going to get them across, but he believed that the Lord would make it possible for them to cross the river. The specifics had not yet been revealed, yet Joshua believed that God would give those instructions when they were needed. But the promise that God would work miraculously was contingent on the people’s willingness to consecrate or dedicate them selves.

Joshua’s faith was based not only on God’s direct statements to him personally but upon previous experience. Some people even Christian’s think that faith is a “leap into the darkness.” But that is not true. The Christian faith is based on a reliable and trustworthy message. There is more historical proof to trust the Bible and what it says than most other historical records. Joshua’s faith was based not only on God’s direct statement to him personally but upon previous experience of his having parted the Red Sea.

We must remember that most of the children of Israel who faced this present crisis represented a new generation. They had not witnessed the parting of the Red Sea or were too young to remember it clearly. Most of this new generation had only heard reports of what God had done. They had not experienced it personally. Tune your ear to those who are willing to share the blessings God has done in their lives and do not doubt that what He's done for others He's certainly willing and able to do the same for you.