It shall come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, and the waters which are flowing down from above will stand in one heap.
– Joshua 3:13
Someplace, sometime, we have all faced the unfortunate and unforeseen necessity of getting our feet wet. The storm came unexpectedly, the rains have flooded the drive, your car is surrounded by six inches of water and your waterproof boots are elsewhere. You stand staring at the water, wondering (hoping) there is an “option C” about to enter your mind. Ultimately you know that you have two options. You can stay where you are until the water subsides, or you are just going to have to get your feet wet. So you take the step. Water flows over the brim of your shoe, soaking into your sock. You plod through the water taking the most direct route possible, wondering how quickly you can obtain dry socks and shoes.
Exercising faith is sometimes like this. It requires taking an uncomfortable step, one we would rather avoid if possible. The priests among the Israelites know exactly what this feels like. Joshua 3 describes one of my favorite mental images in scripture. A large multitude of people are waiting eagerly to cross the Jordan River. Their homeland awaits. The problem is there is water in the way. Not just water, but flood stage water. Crossing the Jordan was not a simple “splish splash” of getting your ankles wet. It was hazardous. Nevertheless, God was calling them to cross. The instructions to Joshua were simple: tell the priests carrying the ark to step into the water. When they do, the Lord will stop the flow of the river. I’m sure that plan sounded delightful for the Israelites in the rear of the pack. I bet it didn’t sound so good to the priests carrying the ark. They were the ones who had to put their feet in the water.
We know how the story went. The priests stepped in. The water stopped. The Israelites crossed on dry land, and the possession of Canaan began. All is well that ends well, right? Of all the people with a story to tell from that day, I think the priests had the best story of all. It was their faith that unlocked the way for the entire nation. They were the ones whose feet had to get wet. They took the risk on behalf of the others. If faith had not become sight for them that day, they could have had serious issues trying to handle the river’s current. To put it another way, their faith was risky faith. There was something to lose.
There was also something to gain.
The teacher Ray Vander Laan offered a memorable reflection on this scene from the Bible. He said, theoretically, if the priests that day had not put their feet in the water, the nation of Israel would still be standing on the river bank. I wonder in how many ways the same is true for us. We have felt the nudge of God to do something, start something, or say something in faith, yet we hold back from risking “wet feet” and never give God the chance to demonstrate His power at work through us. Faith calls us into the uncomfortable, the uncertain, and the risky. This is where God does some of his best work.
Thousands of years after the event, we still marvel at the mighty acts of God who stopped the flow of the Jordan River. And it is all thanks to some priests who were willing to get their feet wet.
See you along the Winding Path.
The Winding Path 