SCRIPTURE: Joshua 4
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
That day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they revered him all the days of his life, just as they had revered Moses. [Joshua 4:14]
God will back up His servants when they stand up for Him.
He will not leave us in the lurch, He will somehow confirm our efforts, and use what we say and do for His good purpose.
It may not always be in ways that we imagine or hope, but it will always be true.
I may not see a river parted, but if I am sincerely devoted to doing the Lord’s work, then He will establish my efforts.
Can I even go so far as to say He will perform miracles through me?
This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him. [John 2:11]
Joshua was confirmed by this miraculous sign; Jesus was confirmed by many miraculous signs.
The signs were intended to confirm Him as God’s messiah, the promised one, so that people would put their faith in Him.
The ultimate sign is the death and resurrection of Jesus.
The death – like going into a flood stage river – and the resurrection – coming out of that river alive and well, and entering the symbol of rest and blessing.
If we believe the signs, and revere God’s appointed leader, we too will follow through death into eternal rest and blessing.
Joshua set up memory stones.
Jesus offered memory water, loaves and bread. Baptism and the last supper are parallel symbols of the reality of God’s glory and grace.
Every time we share this, we are proclaiming His victory through death until He comes again.
Our children, who also benefit from this grace, will ask why we are baptised, why we eat the bread and drink the wine.
And we will tell them of the miraculous signs that God has done through Jesus, and our confidence as a result.
I have no doubt that God parted the Jordan.
I am confident that Jesus died and rose again.
But do I trust that the Lord will back up my testimony with His Spirit and His signs? I do not want to be exalted or revered, but I do want my message to be heard and believed.
I want people to know that Jesus is Lord of the Universe, and that He deserves our allegiance.
To that end, I do pray that God would back up my testimony with His signs and wonders.
PRAYER:
Lord, please renew my confidence in the message, and in You. And please confirm my message with Your power! That all may know and believe!