Stand and Wait

God speaks to his people by the voice of his Spirit: “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21, NKJV). 

The voice of his Spirit comes to us primarily through the scriptures. He may open up a biblical passage that will be the key to our deliverance. However, before we can hear his voice of direction, God requires something of us. We are to stand still and wait for him to act. This word is not a suggestion but a commandment. It is the secret to our total victory and deliverance. Indeed, the Lord commanded his people to stand still on many occasions. 

In Joshua 3, we read of another crossing Israel had to make at the Jordan River. God instructed the people: “You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan’” (Joshua 3:8). Then the Lord added, “As soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off… and they shall stand as a heap” (Joshua 3:13).

God said, “When you get to the water, plant your feet in it and stand there. Be still, rest. Just wait for me to act, and I will part the waters for you!” 

The Hebrew words for standing still in this passage means “stop all activity, cease all striving.” How many Israelites obeyed when they came to the Jordan? As they stood with their feet in the water, many must have thought, “How do we know this is going to work?” Some might have been tempted to build some sort of pontoon bridge to try to get across on their own ingenuity, but that would have been in vain. 

God did act on that occasion. He parted the waters because Israel’s act of obedience was accompanied by faith. God answered their faith! Beloved, by faith, if we listen to his voice and obey, he provides an answer.