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The day had finally arrived for Joshua and the Israelites to cross over the Jordan River and inherit the land God promised to give them through Abraham 500 years earlier. They had waited 400 years in slavery in Egypt. They had spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness. They had mourned the death of Moses for 30 days. They were finally given the opportunity to ‘walk by faith,’ and for some of them, to ‘get their feet wet.’ As we look at this memorable day in their history, I pray that their experience will help us better understand how we too, can walk by faith.

Walking by faith is NOT…

1. Living recklessly, ‘going it alone,’ presuming on God (vs. 1-5)

- Walking by faith starts by making it a priority to listen to the Lord (cf. Dt. 4:1; 11:26-28 NASB; Eccl. 5:1-2)

- Walking by faith continues by following Him (cf. Lk. 9:23; 1 Jn. 2:3-6)

- How we follow Him matters: with reverence (cf. Prov. 9:10a; Heb. 12:28-29) and in holiness (cf. Dt. 7:6; Rom. 12:1-2; 1 Pt. 1:15-16, 2:9-12)

Judging by your daily routine, would others be able to affirm that you prioritize listening to the Lord through His Word? Judging by how you live your daily life, would those closest to you be able to affirm that you follow the Lord with reverence and in holiness?

2. Courageously pressing ahead to advance your profile or agenda (vs. 6-13)

- Walking by faith means faithfully serving the Lord and trusting Him to establish your steps (cf. Prov. 16:9)

- We ought to live in such a way that turns people’s attention to believe in the Lord, and not to us (cf. Mt. 5:16; 1 Cor. 11:1; 1 Pt. 2:12)

- When we humbly submit our lives under His Lordship, we will experience the presence of the living God with us (cf. 1 Pt. 5:6)

Have you learned the secret of being content in any and every situation (cf. Phil. 4:12-13)? Are you restless or are you walking by faith, resting in the assurance that the living God, the Lord of all the earth, is always with you and is establishing you (cf. Ps. 46:10-11)?

3. Seeking to do great things for God in your own strength (vs. 14-17)

- God will lead us into seemingly impossible situations to remind us of our need to rely on His presence and power in our lives (cf. Isa. 41:10)

- Those who walk by faith live with the awareness that it’s “not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD Almighty” (Zech. 4:6)

- The victories God gives us on the journey empower us to trust and obey the next time we have to ‘get our feet wet’

Are you facing any ‘flooded rivers’ that seem impossible to cross? Feeling exhausted and discouraged from trying to move forward in your own strength and not getting anywhere? Isa. 40:31a: “those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength” (NASB)

Walking by faith is:

• Listening and following the Lord with reverence and holiness
• Faithfully serving Him and trusting Him to establish our steps
• Relying on His presence and power in our lives.

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