You've left everything you've ever known. You've crossed a sea when its waters parted on either side of you (and a million or so of your friends) so you could keep your Birkenstocks looking new. You wandered through a wilderness learning how to pick up and move at a moments notice for 40 years, discovering this God who wants to be your God. You've discovered that He's worth knowing and He's willing to make Himself known, and He's gracious enough to tell you how to please Him unlike all the other gods of your day.
... And now He wants to give you a life you could never have imagined 41 years ago - one of endless inheritance, everlasting significance, and eternal life.
The only thing that lies between it and you is this... another body of water to cross. Not as deep as the Red Sea, but deep enough. Not as wide, but wide enough. And this time, your enemies are not behind you, they're ahead of you on the other side. Not as treacherous as a midnight escape, but daunting enough to give you pause.
It's go time... time to start... time for everything you've learned and all that you've experienced to come together in a life-altering endeavor. It's not random. It's destiny. It's not self-promotion. It's God-orchestrated.
You're standing on the edge of a wilderness on the banks of the Jordan River with everything God's brought you through behind you and everything He's promised you ahead.
What are you waiting for?
On a clear night in Houston, Texas in 1969, astronaut (and eventual Apollo XIII commander) Jim Lovell and his wife were moon-watching and marveling at the feat of the astronauts who had moments earlier planted their feet where no man had ever walked before - the surface of the moon. In a perfect balance of incredulity and normalcy Lovell looked at his wife and said, "From now on, we live in a world where man has walked on the moon... and it was no miracle. We just decided to go."
There's something about that statement that stirs me every time. I think it's because I've spent a lot of time in my life waiting for miracles... a wonder pill, a magic potion, a knight on a white horse, a quick fix. I don't want a plan - I need a product. I think a lot of people are like me in that way. I want a miracle. I want the fairy tale. And I don't want to undercut the rock-solid fact that God does miracles and signs and wonders. He does. I've seen them and I know I've experienced them. But there comes a time when all the promises of God, all the destiny ahead mean nothing without a decision to go.
The Jordan River didn't part until Israel decided to go. They had to step into those muddy, rushing currents before they would ever experience the waters forming into walls on either side of them so that they'd cross on dry ground. They had to start. There would be challenges to face, enemies to conquer, destiny to claim, and in each of those things Israel would experience miracles of God... but the first few steps were no miracle. They just decided to obey. They just decided to go.
At some point in your journey with God, everything He's done for you and everything He's brought you through will culminate on the edge of a wilderness. You'll know that He has so much more for you than you ever imagined. You'll have a sense of destiny. You'll be keenly aware of the challenges of living a new way, of the joys and responsibilities of occupying the territory He set aside for you. You'll come upon the rushing waters of a river standing between you and everything God has for you, everything you were born for; and you'll have a decision to make. Will you believe what He said in Isaiah 43 when He promised that the water wouldn't sweep over you? Will you make the first step? Will you start? There's no miracle until you get muddy.
What are you waiting for?
... And now He wants to give you a life you could never have imagined 41 years ago - one of endless inheritance, everlasting significance, and eternal life.
The only thing that lies between it and you is this... another body of water to cross. Not as deep as the Red Sea, but deep enough. Not as wide, but wide enough. And this time, your enemies are not behind you, they're ahead of you on the other side. Not as treacherous as a midnight escape, but daunting enough to give you pause. It's go time... time to start... time for everything you've learned and all that you've experienced to come together in a life-altering endeavor. It's not random. It's destiny. It's not self-promotion. It's God-orchestrated.
You're standing on the edge of a wilderness on the banks of the Jordan River with everything God's brought you through behind you and everything He's promised you ahead.
What are you waiting for?
On a clear night in Houston, Texas in 1969, astronaut (and eventual Apollo XIII commander) Jim Lovell and his wife were moon-watching and marveling at the feat of the astronauts who had moments earlier planted their feet where no man had ever walked before - the surface of the moon. In a perfect balance of incredulity and normalcy Lovell looked at his wife and said, "From now on, we live in a world where man has walked on the moon... and it was no miracle. We just decided to go."
There's something about that statement that stirs me every time. I think it's because I've spent a lot of time in my life waiting for miracles... a wonder pill, a magic potion, a knight on a white horse, a quick fix. I don't want a plan - I need a product. I think a lot of people are like me in that way. I want a miracle. I want the fairy tale. And I don't want to undercut the rock-solid fact that God does miracles and signs and wonders. He does. I've seen them and I know I've experienced them. But there comes a time when all the promises of God, all the destiny ahead mean nothing without a decision to go.
The Jordan River didn't part until Israel decided to go. They had to step into those muddy, rushing currents before they would ever experience the waters forming into walls on either side of them so that they'd cross on dry ground. They had to start. There would be challenges to face, enemies to conquer, destiny to claim, and in each of those things Israel would experience miracles of God... but the first few steps were no miracle. They just decided to obey. They just decided to go.
At some point in your journey with God, everything He's done for you and everything He's brought you through will culminate on the edge of a wilderness. You'll know that He has so much more for you than you ever imagined. You'll have a sense of destiny. You'll be keenly aware of the challenges of living a new way, of the joys and responsibilities of occupying the territory He set aside for you. You'll come upon the rushing waters of a river standing between you and everything God has for you, everything you were born for; and you'll have a decision to make. Will you believe what He said in Isaiah 43 when He promised that the water wouldn't sweep over you? Will you make the first step? Will you start? There's no miracle until you get muddy.
What are you waiting for?