“Joshua told the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.'” (Joshua 3:5)

We often remember Moses and the parting of the Red Sea, but there was another recorded instance where God controlled the waters to allow the nation of Israel to pass on dry land. Joshua urged the people to purify themselves to receive the miracle that was in store.

“Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. 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.” (Joshua 3:15-16)

In Old Testament times, people had to go through a consecration ritual to cleanse themselves before offering a sacrifice to the Lord. In the same way, we see that God required the people to approach Him with a pure heart before He would allow them to cross the Jordan river on dry land.

If you’re waiting for God to move in your circumstance, ask yourself if you’re in right-standing with the Lord first. Do you have unrepentant sin, unforgiveness, or bitterness in your heart? We can’t purify ourselves, but when we surrender our lives and situations to Jesus, His blood covers our sin and we can move forward in His righteousness.

For those of us who offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, we can expect the Lord to do amazing things among us– not because of our worth or anything that we do, but according to the promises of the One to whom we offer our spiritual act of worship (Rom. 12:1).