Get Ready to Cross the River

"Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give them." — Joshua 1:2Some decisions can't be delayed. You're either going to take the job or not. Forgive the person or not. Step into something new or stay where you are. In this installment of our "Joshua" devotional series, Pastor Mike Woodruff reminds us that the moment comes when we have to choose: trust or fear, obey or stall, move forward or retreat.The Israelites are back on the east bank of the Jordan—the same spot where their parents stood 40 years earlier. Their parents saw giants and fortified cities and refused to cross. That decision cost them four decades in the wilderness. Now it's the children's turn. And this time, Joshua sends just two spies into the land. They return with a good report: "The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands."Game time.The Jordan is at flood stage—wide, fast, and dangerous. The Israelites have spent 40 years in the desert; they don't know how to swim. And there are two million of them, with children, elderly, goods, and livestock. Crossing isn't a small ask. It's a giant step of faith.So here's the question for you today: Where are you camped? What river are you standing on the bank of? What step forward is God asking you to take that feels too risky, too big, too impossible?If we're going to follow Jesus, we have to be willing to get wet. The river represents risk. The step forward requires faith. Don't stay on the east bank forever. Get ready to cross.