Faith In Action

Devotional for Wednesday, January 5, 2005 by Vena Poole

Joshua 3:15-16 - And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) that the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. (KJV)

It was only when the priests dipped their feet into the very brim of the water that the water rose up in a heap. Often, it is only when you and I put our faith into a physical dimension that things really begin to happen! When my husband went to be with the Lord, we were alone, it was almost midnight, and we were on vacation in England, renting a tiny condominium. I raced to the adjacent house, where the owners of the holiday complex lived, to use their telephone to reach help. (Telephones are not so plentiful in the UK as in North America). It was too late. According to the paramedics it was too late seconds after my husband had experienced his massive heart attack.

Where to begin? We were staying in the south-westernmost corner of England; my husband was the only one who could drive the manual car. Our many friends scattered throughout Britain were too elderly to come to my aid. My one desire was to return to Canada as soon as possible. The owners of the complex opened their home and their hearts to my needs, even suggesting that they would drive me to Gatwick Airport over two hundred miles away. A taxi could not accommodate the luggage, a walker, etc. Then the urgent command came to me: "Get on your knees and pray!" I did. Then I went to the home of the owner/superintendent who said that their teenaged son had been searching the Internet and had just found a coach service which went directly to Gatwick Airport, starting the journey from the little town where I was vacationing. Immediately we went to the ticket office and purchased a ticket for a coach leaving the next day. It was afterward that the resort owner said, "I have been to the ticket office many, many times, and I have never found the office open!"

Never found the office open! "Get on your knees and pray!" Did obedience to a simple command make any difference to the positive outcome of prayer? We shall never know until that Day, but I firmly believe that physical action is all part of our faith. The incident of the Israelites crossing the River Jordan would have had a very different ending had the priests not put their feet into the water.

Prayer: Our heavenly Father, it is in times of great need that we become very much aware of Your fatherly love and care. It is "when we come to the end of our resources" that You take over to make a way when there appears to be no conceivable way. Help us to learn to lean more fully upon You each day, commencing today. We make this petition through the authority of Your Son, Christ Jesus. Amen.

Vena Poole <r-vpoole@csolve.net>
Innisfil, Ontario, Canada

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