Joshua 3:17 (NIV) The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.

After wandering around the wilderness for forty years because of their stubborn hearts, the Israelites were finally ready to cross over the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land. Just one more obstacle remained, and that was that at that time of year, the river was at flood level. They were crossing over opposite the city of Jericho, and theologians estimate that it was around one hundred feet wide and over ten feet deep at that time, in addition to the flow of the river being too strong to cross at the point where they were crossing it. But they weren't going to cross it by their own efforts or in their own strength. The Lord was about to make a way where there was no way.

Joshua, who was now leading the Israelites in Moses’ place, had been given instructions by the Lord as to how they were going to make it through the raging river. God instructed Joshua to have the priests carry the Ark of the Covenant, which represented His presence, into the raging river. As soon as their feet touched the water, the river parted in two and the priests were able to walk on dry ground. They were instructed to walk to the middle of the river and stand there until the entire Israelite community crossed over. What a beautiful picture of the awesome things that happen when the Lord Jesus is at the center of anything.

The Lord always has a purpose for what He does and how He does it. The priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant could have just stayed near the shore as the Israelites crossed over, because the river parted as soon as their feet touched the water. But the Lord wanted them to stand at the very center of the parted river until everyone was safely across. The Lord was showing everyone, including us today, the importance of having Him at the center of our lives and at the center of everything that we do. When Jesus is at the center, we have safe passage through any difficult, troublesome or dangerous terrain that we may have to cross in life. With Jesus at the center, raging flood waters are tamed and held at bay for us as we pass safely through. Jesus at the center of our lives will have the same result that the Israelites experienced that day as the peace of God takes over anything that would intimidate us or try to disrupt our lives, or even keep us from getting to the place where God wants us to be (our Promised Land). Keep Jesus at the center not only for safe passage on our pilgrimage through this world, but also so that our lives lived in submission to Him will bring glory and honor to His name, just as the Israelites did when they trusted God to get them through this final obstacle to their Promised Land. Keep Jesus at the center where He belongs.

Pastor Joey Vazquez