All In, All Yours: Stepping Into God’s Peace and Promises by Heidi Lee AndersonSample

Obstacle #1: The Floodwaters of Life

What floodwaters are you facing right now? The kind with no bridge, no detour, no way around? When debt threatens to pull you under. When the doctor’s report hits like a rushing tide. When special relationships get swept away. When anxiety drowns out peace. In moments like that, the shoreline vanishes, the horizon fades, and your very next step seems blocked. It’s here, as the waters crash at our feet, we can’t help but ask, How are we ever going to cross this?

This is exactly where the Israelites stood in Joshua 3. It was time to cross into the Land of Promise. God had given them the green light, but instead of a dry path ahead, they were staring down at the crashing waters of a springtime flood that filled up an entire valley 150 feet deep and a mile wide in places.

To say they were in over their heads would be an understatement.

But good news for them and for us: God positioned His people in that very spot—on purpose.

Sure, the Lord told the priests carrying the ark of the covenant to set foot in the raging waters. Without Crocs or a donut inflatable, I would’ve liked to wait until the waters stopped rushing before doggy-paddling into the Jordan. But they did as He said . . .

Except, wait a minute.

God said the raging waters would then cease (Joshua 3:13), but look upstream, and all anyone could still see was a flood at its peak. Look downstream, and everything was still being swept away. No sign of it slowing. So . . . what happened? What went wrong?

I hear Mr. Miyagi say, “Patience, little grasshopper.”

Because, did you know, the waters actually did stop? Get your GoPro, and you could see the miracle started in Adam, near Zarethan—twenty miles upstream (Joshua 3:16). The Israelites couldn’t see it yet. Even with perfect vision and binoculars, it was out of sight. But at the moment of their faithful obedience, the waters piled in a heap upstream, and as a domino effect, the river eventually dried up where they stood.

Let’s connect the dots: When you’re staring at life’s roaring waves, there’s always more happening than you can see. God would never leave you hanging. He’s already at work upstream, arranging things in your favor, and you are safe to move forward where He sends you.

You might get wet and later have to recurl your hair, but the truth is if you step out in faith, you will see God move in power. Sometimes the pieces are falling into place miles away, in spaces you may never even see, but it’s all to make a path for you. When the time is right, it’s going down for real.

Today’s travel tip: He knows the way. He will make a way. He is the Way.