Wednesday, August 30 – Joshua 3:7-13

Now the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they will know that just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. So you shall command the priests who are carrying the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’” Then Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God.” And Joshua said, “By this you will know that the living God is among you, and that He will assuredly drive out from you the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Hivite, the Perizzite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, and the Jebusite. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over ahead of you into the Jordan. Now then, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe. And it will 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, that is, the waters which are flowing down from above; and they will stand in one heap.”

When was the last time you were completely dependent on someone? A baby is fully dependent on his or her parents or caregivers to meet every need. We only experience that deep dependence on another for everything we need a few moments in life. We pride ourselves in what we can manage and juggle on our own. Often, we strive to meet our goals solely by our own power and strength. For the Israelites, the presence of the Lord was essential. His presence empowered them to take the next step, even when they walked into the seemingly impossible.

We sing many songs about needing God, like the old hymn “I Need Thee Every Hour,” but do we truly live dependent on God’s presence in our lives? Or do we only turn to Him when we face a crisis? Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” If the Israelites had depended on their own understanding, they might have gone a way that made more sense to them. If they would have walked without acknowledging God, they would never have seen victory. Just as an infant depends on his or her caregiver, so we need to depend on our heavenly Father. Through Him we can walk with confidence even when the route doesn’t make sense.

• What does it look like to live dependent on God? How will you pursue that this week?
• What parts of being dependent on God seem appealing to you? Which ones are more challenging or off-putting?
• Pray and thank God for guiding us when we follow Him.