Faith Following

“After three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, ‘When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God carried by the Levitical priests, you must break camp and follow it.” (Joshua 3:2-3 CSB)

Following the safe return of the two spies from Jericho, excitement grew for Joshua and his officers when they heard the report. They knew then it was time to cross the Jordan. So, the officers readied the people, and from what we observe here, we understand at least three elements of what following the Lord in faith means.

The first element of following in faith is getting ready. Preparations had to be made to break camp, pack everything up, and deal with the multitude of logistics involved in moving nearly three million people across a river at one time. This suggests to us that faith has a planning stage. There may be times when God tells us to simply act in faith, but it is just as true that God expects us to go through all the preparatory phases so that we can act in faith.

The second element of following in faith is watching. The officers told the people that they were to maintain a distance of about 1,000 yards from the ark of the covenant, so that they could all see when the Levitical priests picked it up. When they saw that, they would know then that it is time for them to move. The ark of the covenant of the Lord represented the presence of the Lord. Today, we do not need a gold-covered wooden box to represent God’s presence, since the Holy Spirit now dwells in each of us to be His presence. Even so, faith calls for us to be observant, to be perceptive, to be watching for how God is working, so that we can join Him in what He is doing in timely ways.

The third element of following in faith is action. When the priests walked down into the water, the people were to then move out and follow and cross over the Jordan, trusting that God was going to stop the water flow (then at flood stage) so they could cross on dry ground as promised. Faith always leads ultimately to action. Without action, there is no real faith. For faith to be real, we must always act on it, demonstrating our trust in God.

Preparing, watching, and acting are all three part of what it means to follow the Lord in faith.

Lord, Today may each of us demonstrate this kind of faith as we seek to follow You and be faithful to You. Amen.