The Israelites were to cross the Jordan River to move into the promised land. This was going to be an experience similar to Moses leading them through the Red Sea. One significant difference with this story is that the waters of the Jordan were moving.

Priests would carry the ark of the Lord into the Jordan, and the waters flowing downstream would be cut off. God was going to “pile up in a heap” the waters of the river upstream at a town called Adam. By the time the ark reached the middle, the river would be dry ground.

Many scholars suggest the river would have been at flood stage when they crossed. This would have made the river much wider and the current much stronger. One estimate I read said the river might have been two miles wide at the time of the crossing. 

I picture the priests walking out in the water, and about the time they are waist deep, it slowly starts to drop so that they see a change, but it is not immediate like the Red Sea. Still, they walk out in faith until the story unfolds like the Lord said. They reach the middle, and all is dry for the Israelites to cross.

Many times, in the life of faith, we are asked to step out into the waters, and God begins to do his work upstream from us. As a result, the changes we prayed for do not happen immediately. It takes time for God’s work to reach us.

Perhaps it will be tomorrow, next week, or next month before we see all the work God is doing for us upstream today.