SOMETIMES GOD CHOOSES TO WORK IN NEW WAYS

 (Read Joshua 3: 2b-4 NKJ)

When it was time to go, God gave the Israelites some specific instructions,  “So it was, after three days, that the officers went through the camp; (3) and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. (4) Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.”

Previously God had used “the cloud by day and pillar of fire by night” as symbols of His leading, His presence and protection. Now God has chosen to lead the people in a new way, by the “Ark of the Covenant.” Now the ark symbolized the presence and power of God with His people.

The presence of the Ark represented the person and promises of God. Having it lead the way, pointed to the fact that as the people of Israel set out to cross the Jordan, invade and possess the land, they must do so not in their own strength, but in God’s.  It was God Himself who was going before them as their source of victory.

When we face times of crisis or when we need direction in our lives, we need to learn to be sensitive to the leading of the Lord.  When God is at work among us and around us we cannot help but expect to hear the call to go forward. When God is at work, we are sometimes moved right out of our comfort zones into the path of new opportunities. Many times our raging Jordan appears to be un-crossable.  Have you ever noticed what is written on your rear view mirror?  It says, “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.” Our blessing is sometimes closer than it appears.  Have faith, sometimes what looks like a barrier is our river of opportunity. God is waiting for you and I to step out and get our feet wet in faith, believing that His power will anoint us for the task and carry us through.