February 17

Day 250: Get Your Feet Wet

After a long stretch of laws and duties, covenant promises of blessing or curse, the Book of Deuteronomy ends. Just like it's somewhat parallel cousin, Leviticus ended. What it looks like to live IN God's will.

Then comes the Book of Joshua. The how-to-move-forward-in-life-based-on-what-you've-heard book. (Spellcheck didn't like that last sentence, by the way.) Joshua asks and answers the question, 'How do we know God's will while living in God's will?'

Of course, that's not the question we normally ask. What we ask is, "What is God's will...for me?' In asking that, we're saying we want a roadmap. And some guarantees.

We want, because we think we prefer a linear game plan. Step A leading to Step B, and so on. We Christians don't want to be 'outside' of God's will. And we don't want to do anything in the absence of guarantees.

Leviticus and Deuteronomy talk about how to be "in" God's will. Decisions and planning and the next steps (our future) is to be considered in light of living in God's will.

So we then come to Joshua, the leader, and the book. His first order of business is to get everyone (all 1.4 million of them) across the Jordan River. At flood stage.

Joshua tells the people to get ready. He tells them that the fighting men of the 2.5 tribes who've already settled on the east side of the river will go first. And then there's the matter of the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant.

Chapter 3 tells the story. The guys carrying the Ark will go first. And Joshua adds a strange command. "Go stand in the water. And wait there."

Don't miss this! They had to get their feet wet, before God would part the waters for the entire nation to pass through.

My point? Sometimes God directs us to a new place, and new situation, a new role, even a new life to live, and then meets us on the other side.

If you've ever been on the backside of a major life's transition, and then realized, looking back, that God was in it, and with you the whole time, you know of what I speak.

There are times when God asks us to move. With a noticeable absence of full disclosure, and decidedly without guarantees. Doing so is called faith; practical, tangible faith.

Sometimes the reasons that encourage the next life's transition are positive. Sometimes negative. I've found myself entering transitions (and dragging my family with me) for both reasons in my own history.

But more often than not, I had to be willing to step into the water. Be okay with getting my feet wet. But I'll also say this, (and age helps this, by the way): I've seen over and over again that God met me on the other side.

God is always much more interested that each of us live in His will. The knowing what to do next is the fruit that comes from the seedbed of already living in His will.

It's not linear as much as it is (picture this) living within a circle, a protective circle of God's will. Even when we are looking the next transition square in the face.

Even when we're told to step forward in faith and get our feet wet, we can remain in that circle of God's will.

Back to the story of Joshua and the Jordan River. After everyone had crossed over, the priests carrying the Ark came out of the riverbed too. The only ones with wet feet.

Then Joshua commanded a representative from each of the twelve tribes to go back into the riverbed, and each grab a large rock. They did so, each bringing his rock. And they used those twelve rocks to make a monument.

A monument to remind the next generations that God had been with them, that He had parted the waters, and that He had met them on the other side.

And how God had got them all there, after the priests were willing to get their feet wet. Sometimes God calls us to get our feet wet too.