If we have found favor in your eyes,” they said, “let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan.”   Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, “Should your fellow Israelites go to war while you sit here? Why do you discourage the Israelites from crossing over into the land the Lord has given them? This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to look over the land. After they went up to the Valley of Eshkol and viewed the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the Lord had given them. The Lord ’s anger was aroused that day and he swore this oath: ‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of those who were twenty years old or more when they came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob— not one except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.’ The Lord ’s anger burned against Israel and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone. – Numbers 32:5-13

“Don’t make us cross the Jordon”…the Israelites, at least, the Gadites and Reubenites, preferred the known comfortable place to the unknown place God had prepared for them.  There was danger and hard things on the other side of the Jordan.  God wanted the Israelites to “Follow the Lord wholeheartedly” regardless of what was on the other side of the Jordan.

It seems like the main point of this account is that the Israelites are to follow God’s lead according to God’s timing — no matter how hard or messy this looks.  When God directs us to stay “on one side of the Jordan and be content”…stay and be content until God says its OK to cross.  In our lives the Jordan we are reluctant to cross may be some promise or prayer we are impatient for God to make happen.

I will admit waiting is not my strong suit and it is sometimes hard to wait on God when it seems like nothing is happening.  This is an area where I am growing and learning right now.  As I daily await a new batch of manna for this blog.  I have decided that in honor of my 80th post tomorrow I will prepare another “rabbit trail” post with a review of where God has led me so far on this journey.  I have started reading the posts from the beginning, looking for common themes.  The post tomorrow will serve as a standing stone to  remember all that God has done so far.

Prayer: God help me to wait upon your timing and lead me as I revisit the last several months of “walking on water”.