You Have Not Passed this Way Before
The little boat dropped my husband and me off on a rocky beach in Kachemak Bay State Park, Alaska. We had planned this 5-mile adventure hike out to Grewingk glacier months before, but now that we were here, I was most definitely questioning the wisdom of entering known grizzly bear country.
Adding to my anxiety was the lack of a bear gun. Our daughter’s family, who lives in Alaska, was supposed to go with us. But the kids had a rough night and they decided to stay in the cabin, along with with the bear gun.
So we set out with only bear spray on our belts and a song on our lips as protection. The song on our lips was to scare away any unsuspecting bears along the way, so believe me, I was singing Jesus songs and clapping my hands the whole 5-mile hike!
We had never been on this trail before, so Tim studied the map ahead of time. There were many times the wilderness was so thick that we could only see a few feet in front of us. And the boat-taxi driver that so non-chalantly dropped us off warned of not straying from the path.
I confess – I was scared to death on that whole hike. I literally wanted to run to get it DONE! But the reward was great. The Grewingk glacier was a wonder to behold!
So why this walk down grizzly-bear memory lane today? Our pastor preached a message from Joshua 3 this past week and the phrase in verse 4 has been hung in my brain…for you have not passed this way before.
The Children of Israel, led by Joshua at this point, were finally about to cross over the flood-stage Jordan river to claim the promised land. It had been a LONG time coming. They were entering new territory and needed fresh faith to get them into Canaan. But as they looked at the Jordan river, they were likely thinking this would be an impossibility. Our Pastor, Dr. John Brock, called it the “river of impossibility”.
God gave Joshua very specific directions as they were about to enter. First, when they saw the Ark, they were supposed to follow it. That says easy, but does hard. They were standing in a place where they had never been before, facing a flood-staged river, then asked to follow the Ark the priests were carrying into that river. It would have raised a few Jewish eyebrows for sure.
Next, Joshua told them to keep distance between them and the ark (about half a mile). Why? It could be that they needed to show respect, but it could also have to do with perspective. Just like Tim had studied our 5-mile hike map so he could scope out the whole-trail perspective, the Children of Israel would need a higher, broader perspective to help them follow God in this potentially anxiety-ridden river crossing.
Then, the kicker command – consecrate yourselves. If Joshua had a twitter account or IG page, this would have been the content!
"Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you." Joshua 3:5
They had to prepare by following rituals of consecration . This was prerequisite and preparation before God would do wonders among them. Because of the work Jesus has done on the cross, we are free from the rituals, but not free from being consecrated, or set apart.
So what does our new covenant of consecration look like? What do we need to do to see wonders among us? It starts with repentance of sin. Always know that our personal consecration matters to God. Consecration during Joshua’s day involved washing clothes and abstinence. They were intentional about setting aside time for preparation. And as we prepare for wonders among us, it will take intentional focus on our Savior, watching Him as the fulfilment of the Ark of the Covenant.
Finally, Joshua told the priests carrying the Ark into the swift-moving currents to stand still at the brink of the waters (Josh. 3:8). What? Stand still? Surely they wanted to run swiftly to get out of the water. But in the stillness of the moment, they began to see the wonder. The Jordan River was being held back so all could cross over. And because the people had stood back a distance, they had the proper perspective to see it.
When we are standing on the brink of a place where we have never been before – illness, divorce, job changes, financial challenges, prodigal children, death of a loved one – our default setting is to RUN, not to be still. But when we stand still and let God do what we cannot do, we will see His wonders in our lives! God will stretch our faith, but He will also faithfully help us ford the “river of impossibility”.
We can also look at the place we have not been before as an exciting opportunity. I don’t know about you, but I am so ready to have an adventure with God. I don’t want to stay stuck on the non-promised land side of the river of impossibility. On the other side of that river was a land of milk and honey and vines that grew grapes the size of basketballs (that might be a bit of an exaggeration).
What is on the other side of the river of impossibility for you? God’s best is waiting for us there. We just have to keep our eyes on Him, make ourselves ready for His use, and be still long enough for God to do what we cannot!
So back to my bear story…yes I was scared to death the whole time, but I would have missed this view had I not kept taking one step after another. Don’t miss the wonders God has in store for you friends!
Look – the bear didn’t eat me! And as Bro. John reminded us Sunday morning, God didn’t bring you this far to leave you!
He brought us out of there in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He had sworn to our fathers.’ ~ Deuteronomy 6:23
