Monday, August 28 – Joshua 3:1-4

Then Joshua got up early in the morning; and he and all the sons of Israel set out from Shittim and came to the Jordan, and they spent the night there before they crossed. Then at the end of three days the officers went through the midst of the camp; and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. However, there shall be a distance between you and it of about two thousand cubits by measurement. Do not come near it, so that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.”

When something exciting is about to take place, it is easy to get carried away. When children run ahead of their parent to go to the playground, they are focused on the playground, not their surroundings. We, like children, can get so excited about what God is doing that we want to jump ahead to see His promise fulfilled or the things He is doing put together. In these moments, we can lose our focus on the journey. In this passage, the Israelites learned to walk in-step with God on the journey. Exciting things were ahead, but the steps to get there were an important part of the process. The Israelites allowed God to set the pace and direction instead of using their own discernment.

What’s happening in your life right now? Are you making strides based on your preferences or asking God where He is leading? Are you slow to take the next step because you are nervous about the place God will lead you? Following God and His direction requires surrender and submission to His plan over our own. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.’” We can trust God as His Spirit sets the pace and directs our lives.

• When was time you were carried away with excitement? What things did you lose sight of in that moment?
• Why is it difficult to go at God’s pace? How can we train ourselves to do this?
• Pray and ask God to help you trust His direction and timing.