Big Idea - We are called to be disciples of Jesus. What does that mean? It means to be a follower. Jesus leads us, directs our steps, and ultimately is our Lord, our master who rules over us, not for our harm but for our ultimate good, for salvation! This is what it means to be a Christian. But this often leads us to a great misunderstanding about the Christian life. We think that if we follow Jesus, and He is leading us for our ultimate good and for our salvation, then certainly God is leading us in the way that avoids all problems, trouble, and obstacles. We believe that if we are truly following Jesus, things will be easier, and life will go smoothly. But the book of Joshua shows us that this is a great misunderstanding about how God works and what it means to follow Him. In fact, it shows us that following God and walking in His way means walking in the path of obstacles and trouble. If we are following God, we can be certain that He will not only lead us to hard things, but He will, in fact, lead us to impossible things. But, if God loves us, and cares for us, and is seeking our good, then why does He lead us in the path of impossible obstacles? What is His purpose in bringing such trouble and hardship into our lives?

The first thing we learn from Joshua and the Israelites is that the only way to be in a right relationship with God is to be in a relationship of follow the leader. God comes to us and meets us. He enters into a covenant relationship with us for the single purpose of leading us. Specifically, He leads us out of slavery, sin, and death, and He is leading us into all His promises of blessing, new life, abundant life, peace, and rest. In short, He is leading us home. He does not lead from a distance, but He leads us personally by living in our midst and by walking with us! Our part then, in this covenant relationship, is to follow wherever He leads. To know God and to put our faith in Him means nothing less than following Him wherever He takes us. We follow Him by turning away from our own path, from control over our own lives. We submit to Him, walk in humility (dependence upon Him), and faith, expecting Him to do wonders!

The second thing we see clearly is that God does not lead us away from trouble and obstacles, but He leads us to them, on purpose! This is the way you shall go, or walk. That is, following God is walking on the path of the impossible. God leads us, not only to things that are uncomfortable or inconvenient, but also to things that are impossible for us to overcome or solve on our own. This is not because there are no easier ways to go. He could lead us on a smooth, easy path, but that is not the way we should walk into His promises. It is the way that is necessary. It is the way we must walk if we are to enter into His promises. But why is this the only way? What is His purpose in leading us into a life of trouble and problems? Many of our hardships are the result of our own sin and lack of faith. It is because our faith is weak that we need to encounter the impossible. But if our faith is weak, how can running into overwhelming and impossible problems be helpful? Because it is through these that we come to know and experience that the living God is among us and that He will not fail! Specifically, God says that they will come to know three things as they are led on the path of the impossible. First, you will know the way you should go, namely, the way of faith. Second, you will have confidence in the One who is leading you (Jesus). And thirdly, you will come to know what the living God is really like so that you can fully trust Him. This is essential because once God delivers you from one impossible situation, there are hundreds more waiting for you! This is the way you must go if you are going to enter into all His promises. Why? Because we can enter into His Kingdom and His blessing only by faith. And we can only grow in faith when we personally experience God doing the impossible!

This seems so hard! When you are standing on the brink of your own raging river that seems not only impossible to cross but deadly even to try, how are we not to run away in terror? The only way to cross over the river is to hold tightly to Jesus, who goes into the water before us. He does not stand on the bank of the river and shove us into going through the water on our own. Instead, He steps into the water before us. We follow Him, but that means He goes before us into every trouble, every problem, every difficulty, and He stops the raging river and makes a safe path for us to cross through. He does not lead us away from the impossible, but He always makes a way through it by making the impossible possible. This is nowhere more plain than when Jesus went to the cross before us. Our greatest Jordan, the most impossible thing we will ever face is death. Death is God's ultimate judgment on sin, our rebellion against Him. Our pride, selfishness, and rebellion make us children of wrath. The only way home is across the raging river of God's terrible wrath. But Jesus goes before us. He stepped into the raging river of God's wrath and piled up its terrible destruction upon Himself on the cross, so that we can walk across from death to life, untouched by its terrible destruction. We still must walk the path of suffering and death, but we can walk through it with faith, knowing that He has gone before us and made the way safe to cross to the other side! If He has gone before us through the impossible obstacle of death, then we can walk in faith that He will deliver us through every impossible thing he leads us through!