After receiving guidance from God, Joshua rose early in the morning and directed the people of Israel to depart from Shittim where they had been camped. They traveled to the banks of the raging Jordan River and lodged there.
The people went to the edge of their difficulty and waited for God to act. They prepared for their miracle by demonstrating a proof-producing faith. If they had remained in Shittim, they might have waited there another forty years. Instead, they acted upon the Word of the Lord. They obeyed and went as far as they could in the natural. Then they waited for God to make their impossibilities possible.
Joshua told the people, "When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God and the priests and the Levites bearing it, then you shall remove from your place, and go after it."
Years previously, when Israel crossed the Red Sea, the Rod of God held by Moses was used to open the way. Here, the Ark of God opens the waters. God moves in different ways at different times. You cannot be focused on how He did things in the past or you may miss the move of God in the present.
Throughout the wilderness journey, Israel was led by a cloud in the daytime and fire at night. Now they are told to follow the Ark which symbolized the presence of God (Exodus 25:10-22). The visible cloud and fire that had guided them through the wilderness no longer directed them. It was a new era. They were to follow the presence of God symbolized by the Ark of the Tabernacle.
We no longer have the cloud, the fire, or the Ark, but we have the Holy Spirit to provide guidance. Do not make a move without the direction of the Holy Spirit confirming the will of the Father to you. God will not always move as He did in times past. You must be willing to embrace new moves of God because you, like Israel, are traveling into new territory and that requires change.
Next, Joshua told the people, "Sanctify yourselves. For tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you." If you are to enter into the miraculous proof-producing ministry of God, then you must be prepared spiritually. Get ready! God is going to do wonders for you, in you, and through you.
PRAYER:
My FATHER, My God, this year let my life reflect the blessing of the Lord, I shall not be static, I decree PROGRESS, FAVOR, HONOR, AND INFLUENCE are my portion. My life is SALTED, My speech is SALTED, My Home and Business are SALTED in the name of Jesus.