3 Phases of Jordan

Josh.3:13, ‘And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap.”’

After Moses died, God raised up Joshua as the next leader to lead the Israelites into the promised land of Canaan.  God told him that He had delivered the whole land of Canaan into their hands… The first target of Joshua was to conquer Jericho. But before he could reach the fortified city, he had yet another challenge of crossing the river of Jordan, whose water overflowed its banks at the time of harvest. This river was an obstacle to the Israelite’s journey to Canaan. But Joshua, encouraged by the Lord, went ahead as per the instructions  given to him.

The overflowing Jordan depicts the obstacles  which challenges our journey to eternal life. They surge up over the banks thus creating fear in our minds. These have the power to pull us back in our spiritual life.  We read here that the Lord made way in the midst of this Jordan for the whole congregation of Israelites to pass by. The priests bearing the ark of the Lord went ahead and the rest followed. Let’s see the whole scenario from the view point of the overflowing river of Jordan. We see three different phases of this river here:

Stubborn to the firmness: This river saw the priests bearing the ark of the Lord approaching towards it but it remained stubborn enough to keep flowing. Some of the issues that we face seem to refuse to give way inspite of all the prayers for the same. They might be things that pain our heart so deeply that often, we tend to fall into discouragement and hopelessness. The Lord knew this before hand. So the priests were instructed to dip the soles of their feet in the brim of the water (Josh.3:15) …to rest their feet in its waters (Josh 3: 13). The first steps of the priests were not on the dry ground but were into the waters. God allowed them to feel the strong currents of the Jordan. At times, God allows us to taste the currents of pains of various stubborn issues, before experiencing His power through the deliverance. This intends to crush and mold us for His great works.

Broken by the firmness: The soles of the feet of the priests did not waver as they stepped into the waters. They drew strength from the Word of God to stand firm in the midst of the flowing waters. The time period from these soles stepping into the waters to the time of appearance of dry ground is a time of intense spiritual fight. The stubborn waters of Jordan tries to crush the firmness of the soles stepped into it while the firmness drawn from the God’s Word attempts to crush the stubbornness of flowing waters. We need to understand here that there is no Jordan in our lives, which the Word of the Lord cannot break. This attitude of the blessed soles of the priests soon broke the strong & resisting currents of the flowing water. The dry passage appeared before the eyes of Israelites. The Jordan which crushes us also becomes the means used by God to build us into weapons sharper than what crushes us. And every Jordan is a training ground more than a testing ground.  The stubbornness of our painful issues weaken as we continue to bear this blessed Word of God by absorbing it into depths of our hearts and apply it in every walk of our lives.  Jordan grows weak as the firmness in the Word of God becomes stronger.

Testifying the firmness: Once the strong overflowing currents of Jordan experienced the crushing power of God’s word upon itself, it submitted completely to the will of the Lord who created it. Dry ground appeared for the people to go ahead. It then arose with testimonies and memorials… Joshua instructed 12 stones to be picked out from the midst of Jordan, where the feet of the priests stood firm (Josh. 4:3) to be kept as a testimony. It’s the firmness of faith in midst of our trials that rises up as testimonies, more than the deliverance that follows it. The Jordan which resisted the journey of God’s people now gave way with humbleness. Its waters stood apart as heap as the priests stood firm on dry ground till the whole congregation of God’s people passed by. Jordan was now like an underpass for the Israelites to the promised land of Canaan. The trials of our lives, when dealt with firmness in Word, soon gets transformed into amazing passages into eternal life.

Dear friends, Jordan river was not parted for ever. It was restored to its purposes for God’s glory. There came the time when the priests were commanded to step out of Jordan (Josh.4:16). Every trial has a beginning time and an ending time set & known by the Lord alone. The waters again flowed like before. God had created Jordan river to flow and not to stop flowing. But here, Jordan waters were cut off only for God’s people for His glory. They were cut off by the determination of His people to move ahead, no matter what comes their way. Joshua had decided never to turn back. His aim was to possess the whole land of Canaan, and not just a river. The issues and trials that seems to resist our spiritual journey ahead will be cut off for His glory.  They will be cut off for those who bear the ark of God with firmness. They will be cut off if we are determined to grow spiritually, no matter what obstacle might come our way. They will be cut off till the Lord’s purposes are fulfilled.

Even though the river flowed again over its banks, the 12 stones that were picked out from its dry bed kept proclaiming the Lord’s victory over this river for generations. Every Jordan like trial intends to leave behind a powerful testimony. As the river was restored to its original form, it continued to stop many other lives who might have desired to cross this river, who refused to put their trust in God’s word and who chose to turn back from the onward faith journey.  Let’s examine our attitude towards the trials we face today. Are we determined to go ahead? Are we standing on the solid rock of His Word and are our eyes fixed on the divine destination marked for us? If we are standing before a Jordan, the Lord commands us to step into its waters with firmness. If our feet bearing His Word have stepped into the waters, let’s continue to remain firm and watch the power of river being crushed and dry up for us. And if we have stepped out of the Jordan, let’s continue to proclaim our Lord’s victory to all generations. No Jordan can stop our divine journey. The continuing firmness in Christ can cut across the rivers of stubborn and painful trials. As apostle Paul said, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Let’s be strong and be encouraged by His love & ever powerful Word. Be blessed to be a blessing to God and men.

God bless us all

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