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In more than three decades of my Christian life, I have been blest by 2 types of Daily devos'
(matter not exceeding 500 words) in universal Christian literature. Not only those Devos'
which have a different theme everyday but also the ones which revolve around a certain
theme over a period of time, say a fortnight, have richly edified me. In fact, both
styles have their own inherent advantages. If the former style caters to the varying
spiritual needs of a christian from day-to-day, the latter aims 'to ground'
a child of God in a certain subject in order he derives the full benefits of the
deep insightful study of a certain topic, spread over a fixed span of time.
In my Daily devo page, I have consciously tried to go in for 'a blend of both the
styles' whereby within a constant theme, I would be aiming to focus on different
facets of it which admittedly is a closer imitation of the 'Constant theme' style
than the 'Varying topics' one.
Having dwelt on the topic of Christian journey in the previous month, now in the month
of Febraury, I intend to focus on a monumental piece of Jewish history….the
Conquest of Canaan, with its particular relevance to modern day breed of
Christian spiritual warriors.
Once again, let me wish you a happy and an edifying read…
Suresh Manoharan
February 10th
Do the possible and leave the impossible with Him
Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark
reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing.
It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while
the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people
crossed over opposite Jericho -
Joshua 3:15-16
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We are indeed blessed that in God’s realm there is no shortage of miracles. Cometh the hour,
Cometh His help in a miraculous way! While parting of Red sea is a momentous part of Jewish history,
the parting of River Jordan while being in spate as recorded in the 3rd Chapter of Joshua is no less
significant, as we see the Psalmist
(Ps 114:3-5) hundreds of years later, bracketing these 2
awe-inspiring miracles together even while magnifying God’s power.
In the relentless march of Joshua’s army towards the Promised Land, crossing of River Jordan
presented the last but the most formidable geographical hurdle, necessitating Divine intervention,
before the conquest could be launched.
Then as now, it all boiled down to his people doing their part and He doing His. Without exhibiting any
hesitancy-the bane of the previous generation-the Priests who were carrying the sacred ark
(the ark signified God’s presence amidst them) as per Joshua’s instructions did all that was required of
them, leaving the rest to God.
Viewing the entire scene unfold from the Priests’ perspective, must have been quite a dramatic experience,
as they were the first to place their ‘feet of faith’, as it were, on the waters of that mighty, hurtling
river in full acknowledgement of God’s words through their leader that a miracle was imminent as soon
as they did their part of planting their feet on waters of that surging River Jordan. Incidentally,
the River Jordan takes its name, "the Descender," from the force of its current, which, after passing
the Sea of Galilee, becomes greatly increased as it plunges through twenty-seven "horrible rapids
and cascades," besides a great many lesser ones’ through a fall of a thousand feet, averaging from
four to five miles an hour.
When swollen "in time of harvest," it flows with a vastly accelerated current. Anyway, the elements of creation,
however strong, would have to obey the Creator’s bidding. Like an obedient student doing his master’s bidding,
the mighty River simply parted paving the way for a huge nation of millions to pass headed by the Priests’
carrying the sacred Ark.
While this miracle cemented Joshua and his peoples’ faith on their Redeemer God who faithfully did His part,
even as His people did theirs, it sure would have had a demoralizing effect on the Canaanites,
who on hearing about yet another miracle, would have been pushed to their wit’s end, on how to battle an
army which had God himself on their side.
In this entire sensational account, it is worthwhile to remember that, the priests did their part to
taking “a leap of faith” of placing their feet on the waters of a raging river. We too dear friends
in our Christian life, when confronted with an apparently insurmountable hurdle need to do our part
of taking first few steps towards it, leaving the impossible of clearing it with Him. Two thousand years ago,
the faithful servants’ in the Wedding at Cana did their part of filling the six stone water jars with
water
(John 2:6-8), leaving it to the Master to convert it into wine. Right? Were they disappointed? NO!
Prayer:
Father, how easy it would be, if we faithfully do our part in all of life difficult situations, leaving the
impossible to thee. Grant us that faith that Priests’ carrying the ark displayed, at all times.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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