It was one of those ministry trips where I had to take my office with me. I had my files and my computer, and I was going to three different cities so I had to be prepared for everything - from cold weather to hot weather. In other words I had a lot of luggage. I've got this one garment bag that ends up stuffed to the gills sometimes. I've actually introduced my bag to airline agents as Big Bertha! Well I was loaded with heavy baggage that day as I was paying my hotel bill. I looked over at the door I was going to be using to leave the hotel and to catch the van to the airport, and there was a problem. There was obviously no handle on that door. I had a heavy load and a door with no apparent way to open it. A problem? Of course not. You know what happened. As I walked toward that door, it opened all by itself, but I did have to walk toward it.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Walking Into the Light."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Joshua chapter 3 where the Jews are about to cross into their Promised Land. But they are facing a flooded Jordan River and wondering how in the world they are ever going to get across, and God gives these instructions in verse 8, "Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: 'When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the water.'" This is a roaring, flooded stream! Verse 13, "As soon as the priests who carry the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, set foot on the Jordan its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap." That's what happened. Verse 15, "Now the Jordan is at flood stage...Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing." Now when did the water's part? It said, "as soon as their feet touched the water's edge."
I might have tried to negotiate this one. "I'll tell you what Lord. How about you part the waters and I'll start walking in." He says, "No. You start walking in and I'll part the waters." Sounds like my automatic door at the hotel. It looked like I could hurt myself if I just kept walking toward that door. I could not see any way it would open, so I could have stood there with Big Bertha all afternoon waiting for an opening. But it opened in the course of my walking toward it - by faith you might say.
That's the Lord's way of directing your whole life. We, of course, want to know how every door might open. We want to know how every need will be met, how every obstacle will be removed; and the Lord says, "Just start walking." So meanwhile, we just stand still waiting for the waters to part or until we've had a lot of our questions answered, till it looks safe. And many people have lost God's plan for their lives that way over and over again.
God is asking you to walk by faith. Maybe you're insisting on walking by sight, and the waters will never part at this rate. God's primary way of showing you the next step is His word. You cannot separate God's will from God's Word. David prayed, "Direct my footsteps according to your word." That means your destiny is tied to whether or not you are faithfully having your time with Jesus through what He wrote to you in the Bible.
But it's not just reading the words, it's asking the Lord to show you through those words what specific things He wants to touch in your life that day. And as you obey that, you take a step in the direction of His larger will for you. Through those daily obediences, you end up being the right person, at the right place, at the right time. God will combine scripture with His prayer leading, with His Godly counsel and circumstance confirmations to shine light on the next step He wants you to take. And take it and He'll show you the next one.
Right now you need to be taking steps in the direction God seems to be leading before the waters part. That's the way to walk in His good and pleasing and perfect will. Even if it looks risky, unconventional, uncertain - like walking toward a door with no handle. It's a door that opens as you walk toward it.