The Miraculous in the New NormalSample

Crossing Across One Glory to the Next

Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” JOSHUA 3:5, NIV

What is life if not a constant series of transitions? We are never sitting still. Sometimes choices made can lead to pain and loss. But for Christians, as we walk close to God, the best is yet to come. We are always going from where we are now into some new land, some promised land, some new season of blessing, “from glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18, NKJV). There is never a place of arrival, never a place where we have seen it all, have done it all, or know it all. There is no mythological “there.” To follow the God of Exodus is to follow the God who is always—in all times and places—on the move. In Joshua 3 and 4, the key phrase is “cross over” or “pass over.” So in Joshua 3:1, they came to the Jordan, and all the people “lodged there before they passed over.” The refrain appears repeatedly—passed, pass, passing—and it’s endlessly relevant for us.

Sometimes just thinking about crossing over can be exhausting, but when God is leading the way, crossing over can be exhilarating! There are always new opportunities, new challenges, and yes, new monsters to fight. There are both new blessings and new responsibilities. The life of faith is a life in constant motion, a life on the move. When we feel the initial exhilaration of forward movement or even just get bored from all the seemingly wasted time of wilderness wandering, it is tempting to charge ahead into the new normal. You might be thinking, “Let’s get on with it, then!” And we do indeed have plenty of adventure ahead!

But before the battle, we need to take a moment to breathe so we can gain the perspective that will only come when we pause. What happens on the battlefield is important—sometimes the battle is won on the battlefield. But some of what will happen on the battlefield is determined by what we do before we get there.

If we are walking close to God and He is leading us, we never have anything to fear from the enemy. The fight is won or lost before we get to it, based on whether we make space for God before the battle begins.

Joshua 3:5 says, “Then Joshua said to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.’” At the beginning and end of the day, wonders are what we are all looking for, whether we acknowledge it or not. We crave the wonder, that which is somehow other to us, the supernatural—that which transcends nature and goes beyond the boundaries of the world as we’ve known it.

Verse to dwell on: 

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 CORINTHIANS 3:18, NKJV

Scriptures: 

Joshua 3:5

2 Corinthians 3:18

Joshua 3:1