Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking him to meet you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
“Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. After three days the officers went throughout the camp, giving orders to the people: ‘When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about a thousand yards between you and the ark; do not go near it.’ Joshua told the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.’ Joshua said to the priests, ‘Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.’ So they took it up and went ahead of them. And 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 the living God is among you and that He will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, 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.'”
– Joshua 3:1-11
Devotion
As the Israelites prepare to advance toward the promised land, God gave Joshua specific instructions to follow. The ark of the covenant represented the physical manifestation of God’s presence in the midst of the people. They key instruction is, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, who are the Levites, carrying it, then you are to move out from your positions and follow it.” The people were not to move forward with God’s plan until they saw God moving first and then they were to follow God.
In his book Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby writes, “God is at work all around us. God invites us to join Him in what He is doing. God’s invitation usually leads to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.” Today we are to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s presence in us. When God reveals what He is up to, then we must step out in faith and follow wherever He leads.
The Big Question
What is God revealing about Himself in this text today?
Are you struggling to know when God is moving in your life? If yes, why?
What have you learned about following God from this text today?
Conclude in prayer and silence, reflecting on what you’ve learned.