Crossing Over

Joshua 3:1 Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. Sometimes you have to leave to receive. Joshua and the Israelite community had lived in the desert for forty years miraculously provided for. It was now time to cross the Jordan river into the land God promised to them. They could stay in the desert and miss out on God's best or they could enter Canaan, where there would be challenges, battles, tests... but also God's abundant grace and gifts. We are often faced with this same choice. I don't like to travel. I tell my wife that my imagination allows me to go anywhere I want... for free. She, on the other hand, loves to see the world and not via my imagination. As much as I hate travel, I also hate the cost, the planning and the anxiety (I'm a nervous traveler). Yet, some of the best things that have ever happened to me took place far from the comforts of home. I became a Christian after leaving my home in Zion (we called it "Zompton") to go stay with my grandparents in Crivitz, Wisconsin. If you've ever been lost out on county roads, you know what Crivitz feels like. You are more likely to run into a bear than another human being. I overcame two years of panic attacks on a trip to Disney World. The Magic Kingdom became a miraculous kingdom. Somehow facing so many phobias brought about some much needed healing. I confirmed my calling into the ministry on a flight back from Ireland. I don't often use the phrase, "God spoke to me," but on that flight back, I know that God whispered some life changing words and not just because I was 30,000 feet up. I met my agent and the editor of the publishing house that is refining and releasing my book next Spring at a conference in Michigan. So as much as I hate to travel, I have discovered that some of God's best work happens on the road. When we leave, we receive When we stay, we pay What is something God may be asking you to leave so you may be in position to receive his best for your life? Let's pray that he gives you the wisdom and courage to take that step and cross over.