Deer in the Headlights

Have you ever felt nailed into position? No way forward, no way back? Not even a sideways route? You stand like a deer blinking into approaching headlights, until vehicle meets animal and it's all over?

I have. Torn apart by indecision, I stand still on the road and watch the circumstances surround me, unable to decide if I should move forward, backward, or sideways, or somehow miraculously leap into the air and float until everything has passed under me.

Heh. 

Without going into personal detail, this is where I find myself today, at the center of what seems like an impossible situation, and I don't know which way to go.

Joshua 3 is a meaty chapter, and I don't want to do it injustice by hurrying through it. Because here is a momentous occasion. The last time the Israelites made such a transition, they were leaving Egypt, the land of their slavery, and they were hemmed in by the Red Sea with Pharaoh's army fast approaching behind them.

Now -- at long, long last --  they're preparing to enter their Promised Land, but the physical boundary separating them is no small hiccup to be got over.

So the only thing I want to focus on today -- and I'll save the rest for tomorrow -- is Joshua 3:3-4. The Israelites have just left Shittim (shuTEEM) and are now on the banks of the Jordan River at flood stage. The officers go throughout the entire camp and spread this message: "When you see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before."

When you see Him... follow Him.
Then you will know which way to go... since you have never been this way before.

Here are two things: 1.) Wait (I don't see Him yet), and 2.) Promise (I will see Him, as denoted by "when.")

Patience. It's not my virtue, but certainly one I need to continue to cultivate.

And then, then, you will know which way to go. Echoes of this same statement thread through Scripture. Proverbs 3:5-6 is one of the more well-known places: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths."

Do I acknowledge Him in all my ways? Are there days when I hide Him from others? When it's easier to casually not mention Him? Boy, is it ever easier. Think of those tense conversations you've had recently. Think of those tight moments you've had with family or friends or acquaintances, or -- you know, Facebook conversations or Twitter threads. Do I acknowledge Him in all my ways?

And He will direct my paths.

It's not just a good idea. He's not just up there looking at us like a chess board and picking and choosing pieces to move at will. There is a direct and intensely personal relationship here: Acknowledgment of Him in all my ways is one side of it, and the reciprocal part of that relationship is: He will direct my paths.

He will go ahead of me. I will follow Him. When I see Him, I will step forward to follow Him. I will follow hard after Him.

Then -- after the stepping forward, then -- after I find Him and there is movement of my spiritual feet -- then I will know which way to go.

The knowledge doesn't come until the movement occurs.

Ouch. But Lord, I want to know which way to go before I go. Planning: It seems key, right?

Remember Abraham? God tells him: "Go from your country, your people, and your father's household to the land I will show you." So... Abram went. Not knowing where, he simply stepped forward, and the Lord showed him where to go.

Isaiah 42:16 says: "I will lead the blind by ways they have not known; along unfamiliar paths will I guide them. I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do. I will not forsake them."

Like that deer staring into the headlights, I am blinded to everything else but the overwhelming brightness of my circumstances. 

Stop looking at the circumstances. Look at Him. When you see Him... follow Him. Once your feet are in motion, then you'll know the way to go.

Faith... with feet. Lord, let it be so in my life.