"Go through the camp and tell the people, 'Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own." (Joshua 1:11, Emphasis Added)
After Moses' death, God immediately commissioned Joshua to "get ready" to cross the Jordan and take the Promised Land of Canaan. Without hesitation, Joshua passed the message on to the Israelites to begin making preparations for their coming conquest, and to "get the supplies ready" for the journey across the Jordan.
Looking back on the story thousands of years later, with the luxury of knowing the end of the story at the beginning, we may not always consider the level of faith that it took for Joshua to give these marching orders. He had spent decades hearing of this "promise" without any real progress towards seeing it fulfilled, and though he had earlier led the army of Israel in a resounding victory over the Amalekites (Exodus 17:9), Moses was no longer around to stand on top of the hill raising his hands.
Joshua had plenty of reasons to allow fear and doubt to creep into his Spirit, and prevent him from reaching the land of promise and provision. Yet when God gave the word, Joshua jumped to attention without hesitation and said to the Israelites, "Ok, let's go! Pack up your stuff and make your preparations, because my God has said success if ahead of us! Hallelujah!
When God gives us a promise, whether it relates to our finances, business, family, or relationships, he expects us to begin taking action & making preparations as if it's a done deal. It's an act of faith that illustrates to God your full and unwavering belief that he is going to do exactly what He said he would do, exactly when He said He would do it.
However, all too often our church members live with a "wait and see" approach. If God comes part of the way, then I'll go the rest. If I begin to see things moving, then I'll start really making preparations for the blessing that's coming. That's not faith! Even the world can believe in something once it's already started happening. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we DO NOT SEE!
Joshua didn't stay up at night peering over into Canaan with binoculars waiting for the enemy to just drop dead of a collective heart attack. He didn't sit back and wait for some mysterious "sign in the sky" or "check in the mail." He received a promise from God, and he immediately began to make preparations for the fulfillment of that promise.
Have you recently received a promise from the Lord? Do you have dreams and visions that you believe God is bringing to fruition this year? If so, what have you done to make preparations for the wave that's coming? Have you built the larger storehouses (metaphorically speaking) to contain the increased crops, created a contingency plan for how and to whom you would delegate tasks when your business explodes, or laid out a budget to utilize the increased profits in the most productive manner? Are you truly acting in a manner that displays unwavering faith in the promise you've received, or will it be just another year of lip service void of any action?
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