Today's Passage - Joshua 4:19-23

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Joshua 4:19-23   On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. He said to the Israelites, "In the future when your descendants ask their parents, 'What do these stones mean?' Tell them, 'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.' For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over.    God gave us a new perspective on how the Israelites cross Jordan River. When the Israelites were crossing the river, not only did God perform a miracle, but He was actually leading the way ahead of them all the time. In fact, God first dried up the Red Sea and Jordan River, and then was waiting for the Israelites to cross. That's how God leads us - He first prepares the way for us, and then He waits for us to go to Him. It's like how a toddler learns to walk - Parents first remove all the obstacles, and then they stand somewhere not too far way, open their arms and call out for the toddler: "Come, daddy and mommy are here!" The toddler then wobbles his way to the parents. The toddler might be thinking, how come daddy and mommy don't come to help me? After we grow up, we realize that it was the process of growth.   In the same way, that's how God leads us. Sometimes we're in the middle of a trial and we wonder why God doesn't give us a hand, but we do not see that God is already ahead of us. He has made way for us and He's waiting for us to cross. The Lord's guidance is wonderful, and His promises are even more wonderful. We need to hold onto His promises in our daily life and let them become the strength for us to move forward.   Many years ago, I was preparing to leave East Coast to move the family to California. Two days before we left, I found out that the electric system in the car was malfunctioning and the car was breaking down all over the place. The day before I left I had it checked by someone, and the technician said it'd be hard to get everything checked in one day and he could only do his best. I prayed to the Lord and the Lord gave me a promise that He has made way ahead of me and He's just waiting for me to go to Him. The next day, we moved forward according to plan, and every day I prayed according to His promise, "Lord, you said you are ahead of us and waiting for us to cross over!" We then experienced the Lord's protection every day, and reached California safely after two weeks. In your life today, do you feel lonely and helpless? Don't forget that our God is the God who's ahead of you, and He's waiting for you to cross over!   Pray with Pastor Tong     Lord, I thank you because you lead us in such wonderful ways. Even though sometimes it's difficult to understand, but you've already made way for us and you're just waiting for us to cross over. May you continue to fulfill your promise, lead us forward with strength and comfort in our daily life. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!