As soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.
- Joshua 3:13

The priests stepped into the water and felt it pulling and tugging them downstream. What pressure! On their shoulders they carried the ark of the covenant, filled with their community’s most sacred relics. One stumble, one misstep could spell disaster. Public, humiliating disaster.

When they stepped into the water, a miracle happened. Upstream, the river stopped flowing. The water stood at attention, yielding to the Lord of heaven and earth. It piled up and piled up and piled up. The natural laws that govern how water usually acts curled up at the Lord’s feet and waited for his command to re-engage.

A miracle happened, but the priests couldn’t see it. They waded into that water carrying that ark. They lifted it high so it wouldn’t get wet. They stepped carefully so they wouldn’t trip. They slogged across the river while the miracle happened upstream, beyond their sight.

This is often what happened. God’s miracle, God’s intervention, God’s deliverance happens upstream. The miracles are decisive. The results are guaranteed. But it’s all happening upstream.

We live life in the downstream. We pray and serve and hope that God is up to something. We look around and everything looks the same. The water continues to rush past us. Our footing still seems slippery. We keep slogging forward.

But now and then we’ll notice a change in the air. The current may slow. The water level may dip. A gasp from the crowd on the riverbank may alert us that something miraculous has happened upstream.

What if God’s invitation to you is to wade in the water and trust that he’s going to work a miracle for you upstream?

This is an image of faith. We step into the water knowing that God’s present with us. We wade into the water believing that God has a miracle for us upstream, that he wouldn’t send us into the water unless he had a plan for us to pass through the water, that he’ll never leave us or forget us or let us sink.

Where do you need to wade into the water today?