As I studied for my Sunday School lesson, I felt both excited and sad. Excited that my ladies’ Sunday School class was finally going to complete our Wilderness Wanderings series and reach the Promised Land. Sad that it was the last class for me with my ladies because Jason and I will be hitting the deputation trail, which means we’ll be in and out of a lot of different churches over the next several months. I know some may view giving up a class as a blessing or a reprieve, but words cannot describe how much I love teaching God’s Word. I get excited about Sunday School, and I will miss being there each week with my precious ladies.

Okay, moving on before I get all blubbery. . . again. One of the main things I love about teaching is the learning process I have to go through first. When I dig into God’s Word to prepare my lessons, He never fails to open my eyes to such beautiful truths, and usually, the lesson is something I need to hear. This past week’s teaching was no different. As I studied to cram about four weeks worth of lessons into one so we could get out of the wilderness, I came across a verse that was exactly what my heart needed to take in.

As the children of Israel prepared to cross the Jordan River, Joshua gave them the orders the Lord had given him. The priests, carrying the ark before the people, would make their way down to the river, step into the raging waters, and stand there while all the people crossed. Miraculously, when the priests stood still in the river, God caused the flow of the water to cease WAY upstream and gather in a heap. Meanwhile, the rest of the water either flowed away or simply vanished because the Bible says the people walked across on dry ground, just as they had done with the Red Sea.

But notice the instructions to the people given in verse 4. They were to leave a space between them and the priests carrying the ark of 2,000 cubits. If you do the math, you’ll see that’s a distance of over half a mile. That’s a big gap!!! But there was a reason for that distance. “That ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.”

God didn’t want the people rushing ahead because they thought they knew what to expect. After all, their parents had told them how God parted the Red Sea, so in their reasoning, God would do the same thing the same way here. But He didn’t. He had another plan, a different way. And He wanted them to understand how much they needed to wait. Stand back and watch. Watch for direction. Wait for guidance. Don’t just jump ahead thinking you know what to do and how to do it because this is all new territory.

Oh, how that blessed my heart this week. I don’t know about you, but right now, Jason and I are covering new ground. We haven’t passed this way before. We’ve spoken with other missionaries who have, and of course, everyone has their ideas and opinion on what works best and how it’s supposed to be done. And that’s fine. In fact, we have our own thoughts about how we want to work on this new path. But God graciously reminded me to be careful that we don’t rush ahead thinking we have it all figured out. Advice and opinions from those who have come before us are great. The Bible has much to say about good counsel. But, in the end, we need to wait on God and follow His guidance. We need to step far enough back from our own ideas that we can see what God has for us. This is new territory to us, but it’s not to God.

My friend, whatever you’re facing today, I encourage you to step far enough back from the problem, the situation, and your plans that you can see what God wants you to do. Wait for His guidance. Don’t rush ahead of Him thinking you have it all worked out. That always leads to trouble. Waiting is hard, but finding yourself in heartache because you rushed ahead of God is worse. Put some space between you and your issue and close the gap between you and God. Life will be better that way, and you’ll reach your destination, just as the children of Israel did.