One thing you should know about me: I absolutely hate sports.
But another thing you should know about me: I love being part of a team.
Twelve years ago – after I graduated university – I started working for a skincare company.
I soon realised this was no ordinary skincare company. The staff members actually seemed to like each other. They ate ice cream together and laughed a lot.
The most random thing was: They worked out together.
As a team-building exercise, they would finish the work day by allowing an extremely angry man to command their every movement, for thirty minutes!
You guessed it: I put my no exercising in public rule aside and joined in for the sake of being a team player.
Years later, certain staff members were keen for our company to complete an endurance-based obstacle course together. Tough Mudder.
As a team, of course!
Next thing you know, I found myself…
- Shivering in a field,
- Covered in mud,
- Carrying a log,
- So unfit,
All for the sake of teamwork!
One of the Tough Mudder obstacles is called “Hold Your Wood”.
You have to carry a log weighing 20 pounds, for 3 – 10 minutes, as you walk through uneven terrain.
So. Much. Fun. (For others…)
The thing is, I thought of that log-carrying team exercise today, as I read Joshua 4.
In the book of Joshua, the author explains how an estimated 2 to 2.5 million people crossed the Jordan river, on dry land.
God literally holds back the river so that His people – the Israelites – can pass with safety and victory.
In order for this miracle to happen, God commands priests to carry the presence of God and stand in the middle of the flooded Jordan.
We know the Ark of the Covenant (the thing that held the presence of God) had four handles. So, we can guess that there were four priests, each holding a weighty handle.
These four guys would have stood in the river Jordan and witnessed God pulling back the waters.
They would have stayed in the river for maybe up to five days.
Here’s what the Bible says:
For the priests who carried the ark were standing in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people, in accordance with everything that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people hurried and crossed [the dry riverbed]; and when all the people had finished crossing, the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people.
Joshua 4: 10 – 11, AMP.
The priest’s role in the middle of this miracle absolutely fascinates me.
Can you imagine standing- for five days – in one place?
How did they eat and drink?
Did they whine and moan?
Were they bored and tired?
Did they tag-team, in order to get some sleep?
What did this actually look like for these four men?
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think we expect miracles to be streamlined.
- We expect miracles to be delivered in pretty parcels, wrapped in chiffon ribbon and tied with a Christmas cinnamon stick.
- We sometimes expect that one particular miracle will solve all our problems.
- We definitely don’t expect a miracle to cause us physical discomfort.
But here we are, thinking about four sweaty men standing on riverbed rocks for five days. Watching millions of people walk and walk and walk. A miracle.
Here is what I think: I think God has an agenda for every miracle.
Check out this verse:
On that day the Lord magnified and exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; so they feared him [with profound awe and reverence], just as they had feared Moses all the days of his life.
Joshua 4: 14, AMP.
Sure, God wanted His people to claim their promised land. But let’s not miss this: God knew that this river-pulling miracle would be exactly what His people needed, in order for them to confidently follow Joshua’s leadership.
God wanted His people to have a sense of awe and honour for Captain Josh. This water-breaking miracle harked back to Moses parting the red sea. (See Exodus 14.)
His purpose is etched onto every miracle. Sometimes we just don’t see it.
But what happens when we look at our own miracles with that same lens:
- When we received unexpected money on our Easter holiday – God wanted us to know that He is the God that blesses and refreshes. The one who leads us beside still waters.
- When I was finding it hard to pass my driving test – God led me to unexpectedly complete the exact same route of the test the night before. He wanted me to know that I could do it, with Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.
- When I prayed for my husband to be healed of tonsillitis and it literally disappeared – He wanted me to know the power of Jesus’ name.
My point is this: Your miracle might be messy, smelly and totally uncomfortable.
It might require you to step into a metaphorical flooded river.
But what if He’s allowing you to get right in the middle of a problem so that He can deliver you AND set a whole other bunch of people free, at the same time?
See, our Jordan river priests stayed in that place that was once a mega-problem, until millions of people had walked through it and were safe:
When the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come up from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of their feet were raised up to the dry land, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and flowed over all its banks as before.
Joshua 4: 18, AMP.
They climbed up onto dry land and the problem returned. But millions escaped danger, millions walked on dry land because the priests were willing to:
- get their toes wet,
- let their feet hurt,
- allow their backs to ache…
And more.
All for the sake of teamwork!
I hope this is making sense to some of you: Maybe your miracle has not arrived how you wanted it to because God is going to rescue you and millions of others, while He is at it.
He has a big old plan for your miracle. You are asking for one small thing; He’s up to a really big thing.
I guess the question is, are you prepared to face temporary discomfort?
Are you able to stand in the midst of your problem, for a little longer? Are you able to stand in the very centre of what is troubling you, with God’s presence?
Can you carry an awkward log, for the sake of the ones that will come after you?
I don’t know about you, but when I think of my children’s, children’s children… I gain a little extra staying power. A little extra log-holding endurance!
Maybe it is different, for you:
- When you think of your church in 100 years, can you imagine how much better off they will be if you keep standing in your current situation, until you see God’s hand?
- When you think of your workplace, how much better off will it be if you take courage and step in the water, where others cannot?
- Or, perhaps you are leaving a legacy for your neighbourhood. Standing on the rock, until you see change.
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