Step Out in Faith

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our reading, titled Step Out in Faith, was written by Allison Keita. The guest speaker spoke on the wisdom of trusting God and stepping into the river. He told of a pastor who trusted God and chose to speak the truths of the Bible in a sermon, despite the new law of his land.

He was convicted of hate crimes and spent 30 days in jail. But his case was appealed, and the court ruled he had the right to give a personal interpretation of the Bible and to urge others to follow. The priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant had to make a choice, too—either step into the water or stay on the shore. After escaping Egypt, the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years. Now they stood on the banks of the Jordan River, which was at flood stage and dangerously high. But they took that step, and God caused the waters to recede.

Joshua 3, 15 and 16 says that as soon as their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. When we trust God with our lives, he gives us the courage to move forward, whether choosing to speak the truths of the Bible or to take a step into unknown territory. During the pastor's trial, the court heard the gospel through listening to his sermon. And in Joshua, the Israelites crossed safely into the Promised Land and shared about the power of God with future generations.

If we step out in faith, God will see to the rest. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Joshua chapter 3, verses 7 through 17. The Lord said to Joshua, Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant, when you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the river.

Joshua said to the Israelites, Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. This is how you will know that the living God is among you, and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perissites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites. See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you.

Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap. So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan.

While the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah, that is the Dead Sea, was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by, until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground. Let's pray. Dear Lord, we thank you for the courage that you instill within us when we trust in you. Whether we're speaking your truths or venturing into the unknown, may your guiding hand be on us. As we step out in faith, may we witness your power at work just like the Israelites did in Joshua's time. Help us to share the testimonies of your faithfulness with future generations, inspiring them to trust in you. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening today. I'm Rachelle Traub, and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.