Good Morning Sunshine! It’s Time For A Fresh Word & Fresh Revelation!  Crossing Over: Moving Toward The Promise!

Foundational Scripture: Joshua 3:17 (NKJV) — “Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.”

Over the last several weeks, God has been taking you on a journey. You have been challenged to examine the places of bondage in your life and to allow the Holy Spirit to have His way. You have been reminded that true liberty is not simply being released from something; it is learning how to walk differently because you have been made free. Now that you have walked out of bondage into liberty with the Word of God, you are ready to cross over. The Word has been renewing your mind, the Holy Spirit has been transforming your heart, and God has been preparing your feet for the next part of the journey.

There comes a moment when you cannot spend all of your time talking about what God brought you out of. Eventually, God begins showing you what He brought you out for. Liberty was not the end of the journey. Freedom was preparation for movement. God did not break chains so that you could remain standing at the place where they fell. He freed you so that you could move forward into the life, purpose, assignment, and territory He has prepared for you.

That is where this new five-day journey begins.

Crossing Over: Moving Toward the Promise is about recognizing that you are no longer standing where you used to stand. God has brought you through something. You have walked out of bondage. You have learned something about liberty. You have allowed the Word of God to confront old ways of thinking, and now God is saying, “It is time to cross over.”

Israel’s journey gives us a powerful picture of this process. Egypt represented bondage. God brought Israel out of Egypt, but being physically removed from Egypt did not automatically remove Egypt from their thinking. They still had to learn how to trust God, obey His voice, depend upon His provision, and stop longing for what was familiar simply because the journey became difficult. The wilderness became a place of testing, correction, dependence, and preparation. Then came the Jordan, a place where preparation had to become movement.

There is a difference between coming out and crossing over. Coming out means God delivered you from what held you. Crossing over means you are now moving into what He has prepared for you. You cannot spend your entire life celebrating that the chains came off while refusing to walk through the door that freedom opened.

You are free now. So, move. You have the Word now. So, walk in it. You have experienced  liberty. So, stop thinking like a prisoner. You have learned to recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit. So, follow Him into the next place.

This is where discipline becomes essential because deliverance gets you out of Egypt, but discipline keeps you out of Egypt. There are things God will deliver you from, but afterward you must develop the discipline not to return to them. You cannot continually revisit old thought patterns, unhealthy cycles, familiar fears, destructive habits, and relationships God has clearly told you to release and then wonder why moving forward feels so difficult.

Liberty must become a lifestyle. The Word that brought you out must become the Word that teaches you how to live after you come out. You cannot cross over carrying everything from Egypt. Some things must remain behind. The fear must stay behind. The bondage mentality must stay behind. The constant need for approval must stay behind. The belief that you are incapable must stay behind. The habit of returning to what God has already delivered you from must stay behind.

You can remember Egypt without craving Egypt. You can testify about Egypt without rebuilding Egypt. You can thank God for bringing you out without allowing where you came from to become the identity you carry into where you are going. Because now you are crossing over. Joshua 3:17 tells us that all Israel “crossed completely over the Jordan.” There was a point when they were no longer standing on the old side wondering what would happen. They crossed. Completely.

And there comes a point in your spiritual journey when you must recognize that something has changed. You may not have possessed everything God promised yet. There may still be battles ahead. There may still be areas where God is developing you. But you are not where you were.

Do not confuse unfinished with unchanged. God has done something in you. Your prayer life has changed. Your discernment has grown. Your thinking is changing. Your boundaries are changing. Your appetite is changing. Your response to certain things is changing. Your desire for God’s Presence is becoming stronger. That is evidence that you are moving. Now keep moving.

God has sent you to this new place. Embrace your Promised Land. Do not enter a new season apologizing because you no longer fit into old spaces. Do not feel guilty because your standards have changed. Do not shrink yourself because someone is more comfortable with the version of you that existed before God began transforming you.

You are allowed to grow. You are allowed to mature. You are allowed to become disciplined. You are allowed to require something different from yourself. You are allowed to say, “I don’t live there anymore.” But as you embrace the promise, never forget that the greatest treasure of the Promised Land is not simply what God places in your hands. It is more of His Presence.

Do not pursue the promise and lose the Promise Keeper. Do not ask for greater territory and decrease your prayer life. Do not ask God for greater influence while becoming less dependent upon Him. Do not pray for open doors and then become too busy to sit at His feet once they open. If the territory increases, let your dependence increase. If your influence increases, let your humility increase. If your responsibility increases, let your discipline increase.  If the anointing increases, let your surrender increase.

You should be able to say with gratitude and humility, “I am more anointed today than I was yesterday,” because time in God’s Presence should be producing something in you. You should grow in wisdom, discernment, obedience, compassion, humility, consistency, and surrender. The goal is not simply to become more gifted. The goal is to become more yielded. That is why the prayer for this journey is, “God, help me walk the fine line as I pursue the narrow path.”

Help me walk in confidence without becoming prideful. Help me pursue increase without becoming consumed by possessions. Help me receive recognition without needing applause. Help me walk in authority while remaining submitted to You. Help me celebrate what You give me without allowing the gift to become more important than the Giver. Help me remember Egypt without returning to it, appreciate the wilderness without camping there, and celebrate the Jordan without making the crossing my final destination.

Over these five days, you are moving intentionally from bondage to liberty, from liberty to crossing, and from crossing toward possession.

Day One —

 Good Morning Sunshine! Keep It Moving Forward, You Have Crossed Over!

Joshua 3:16–17 (NKJV) — “That the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.”

Joshua 4:18 (NKJV) — “And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before.”

The children of Israel had been on a long journey. God had delivered them from slavery in Egypt, brought them through the Red Sea, sustained them throughout the wilderness, and prepared a new generation to enter the land He had promised. After forty years of wandering, Israel finally stood at the Jordan River with the Promised Land on the other side.

The Jordan presented another impossible-looking obstacle. Scripture tells us that the river overflowed its banks during the season when Israel was preparing to cross. Yet God instructed the priests carrying the ark of the covenant to step into the water. When their feet touched the Jordan, God stopped the flow of the river, and the people crossed on dry ground. The ark, representing God’s covenant and Presence among His people, remained in the middle of the Jordan until everyone had crossed completely.

There is something significant about the words “crossed completely over.” God did not bring Israel halfway through the Jordan and leave them standing there. The crossing was completed. The same people who had been looking across the water toward the promise were now standing on the other side of the obstacle.

Then something happened that made returning the same way impossible. Joshua 4:18 tells us that once the priests stepped out of the river, the waters returned to their place. The path God had opened for the crossing closed behind them. Israel had crossed. They could remember the other side. They could testify about the other side. They could remember the miracle God performed in the middle of the Jordan, but they could no longer live as though they were still standing on the previous side. The crossing had happened. Now they had to move forward.

It’s time to stop living like you are still on the other side! There comes a moment in your journey with God when you have to recognize that you are no longer where you used to be. Something has changed. God has brought you through something, taught you something, delivered you from something, healed something within you, or shifted something around you. You may not yet be standing in the fullness of everything He promised, but you are not where you started. That matters.

The last season taught you about walking out of bondage and into liberty through the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. Now God is saying that freedom was not the final destination. He did not bring you out simply so you could stand outside of Egypt celebrating that Pharaoh no longer has authority over you. He brought you out because there is somewhere He intends for you to go. Freedom gives you permission to move.

Sometimes you can become so accustomed to talking about what God brought you through that you forget to ask what He is bringing you into. Your testimony of deliverance is important, but your life cannot become permanently centered around what happened in Egypt. There comes a time when God begins shifting your language from, “Look what He brought me out of,” to, “Look where He is leading me now.” That is where you are in this journey. You have crossed over.

Maybe everything around, you does not look dramatically different yet. Maybe you do not have all the answers. Maybe there are still things God is developing in you. Maybe there are still battles ahead, walls you will have to face, disciplines you will have to develop, and territory you will have to learn how to steward. None of that changes the fact that you are no longer where you were. Do not confuse unfinished with unchanged. Sometimes because you have not arrived at the final destination, you overlook how far God has already brought you. You look at what still needs healing instead of thanking God for what has healed. You look at what you still need to learn instead of recognizing the wisdom you have gained. You look at the doors that have not opened instead of remembering the doors God already brought you through. Take a moment and recognize your crossing.

Maybe you respond differently now. Something that once would have caused you to lose your peace does not have the same power over you. Maybe you have learned how to pray before reacting. Maybe you are beginning to establish boundaries where you once allowed unlimited access. Maybe you can hear “no” without immediately believing you are rejected. Maybe you can wait without assuming God has forgotten you. Maybe you are learning that you do not have to explain yourself to everyone in order to obey God. Those things matter. They are evidence that you have moved. Crossing over is not always marked by something spectacular happening around you. Sometimes the greatest evidence of crossing is what God has changed inside of you.

Your circumstances may look similar, but your perspective is different. The conversation may be the same, but your response is different. The temptation may still knock, but your answer is different. The situation may still require patience, but the way you wait is different. That is growth. That is liberty becoming a lifestyle. That is evidence of crossing.

Joshua 3 tells us that Israel crossed completely over. There was no instruction for them to build a house in the middle of the Jordan. The river was a crossing place, not a dwelling place. Yet sometimes you can become emotionally stuck in the place God intended for you to pass through. You keep replaying what happened in the middle. You keep revisiting the fear you felt while crossing. You keep wondering what would have happened if the water had returned sooner. You keep talking about how difficult the journey was. Meanwhile, God is saying, “You made it across.” There are experiences you must stop living inside of simply because they were significant. Something can be important without becoming your permanent address.

The Jordan was significant, but Israel could not stay there. Your pain may have been significant. Your disappointment may have been significant. Your wilderness may have been significant. The loss may have changed you. The betrayal may have taught you something. The struggle may have developed something in you. You do not have to minimize what happened in order to move forward. You simply cannot allow what happened to become the place where you stop.

God gave Israel instructions to take stones from the Jordan and build a memorial. The stones were evidence of what God had done. They could look at those stones and remember that God stopped the water and brought them across. Notice what God gave them permission to carry. They carried the testimony, not the river. That is a word for you. Carry the testimony, not the trauma. Carry the wisdom, not the bitterness. Carry the lesson, not the bondage. Carry the evidence of God’s faithfulness, not the fear that tried to stop you. You do not have to forget where you came from, but you do have to decide what you will carry forward.

You have crossed over, so now your thinking must begin reflecting where God has brought you. You cannot continually think like someone who is still trapped when God has given you liberty. You cannot continually speak as though nothing will ever change when God has already shown you evidence of transformation. You cannot continue preparing for failure while praying for promise.

Your thinking needs to catch up with your crossing. Your speaking needs to catch up with your crossing. Your praying needs to catch up with your crossing. Your preparation needs to catch up with your crossing. Your discipline needs to catch up with your crossing. This does not mean pretending everything is perfect. It means refusing to let an old season dictate your expectations for a new one.

If God has brought you into a season where He is asking you to build, then prepare like a builder. If He is asking you to lead, begin developing the discipline of a leader. If He is calling you to write, create, serve, teach, minister, start, finish, heal, forgive, or establish something new, then begin arranging your life around obedience. Faith does not simply say, “I believe God is taking me somewhere.” Faith begins preparing for where God said you are going. This is where discipline enters the crossing.

You cannot continue asking God for a new season while insisting upon maintaining every old habit. New territory may require new structure. It may require you to protect your time differently, pray differently, study differently, establish stronger boundaries, finish things you previously left unfinished, or become more consistent with what God has placed in your hands.

Sometimes we want God to change our territory while we resist allowing Him to change our routine. But crossing over means something has to move. And sometimes the first thing that needs to move is you. This is also where your declaration becomes important: “I am more anointed today than I was yesterday.” That should not be spoken from pride, but from an understanding that time with God should be producing growth in you. If you are more anointed today, you should also be more surrendered today. You should be growing in wisdom, discernment, compassion, humility, consistency, and obedience. You do not simply want greater gifting. You want greater capacity to carry what God places upon your life.

That is why your prayer throughout this journey must be, “God, help me walk the fine line as I pursue the narrow path.” Help me walk confidently without becoming prideful. Help me pursue excellence without becoming trapped in perfectionism. Help me establish boundaries without becoming hardened. Help me recognize growth without believing I no longer need You. Help me move forward without forgetting the lessons that brought me here.

The narrow path requires continued dependence upon God. Crossing over does not mean you have graduated from needing Him. It means you need His voice in a new way because you are entering territory you have never navigated before. Joshua 3:4 told Israel that they had “not passed this way before.” That is why they had to follow the ark. God’s Presence had to remain their guide.

You may not have experienced this season before. You may not have carried this level of responsibility before. You may not have had this opportunity before. You may not have walked in this degree of freedom before. You may not have experienced this version of yourself before. That is why you cannot navigate the next season entirely by what you learned in the last one. You need fresh direction from God. Keep praying. Keep listening. Keep studying His Word. Keep asking for wisdom. Keep allowing the Holy Spirit to correct you. Keep your heart tender enough to change direction when God speaks. You have crossed over, but you still need His Presence.

And do not become afraid when you realize there is more territory ahead. Crossing the Jordan did not mean Israel had possessed everything immediately. There were still battles to fight, decisions to make, instructions to follow, and places to grow. The crossing did not mean the journey was finished. It meant a new part of the journey had begun. So do not become discouraged because everything has not happened yet. You are moving. You are growing. You are learning. You are becoming. God is still working.

You do not have to have everything figured out today. You simply need enough faith to take the next obedient step. Perhaps that is the word God wants you to hear this morning: keep it moving forward. Not frantically. Not competitively. Not trying to prove something to anyone. Just faithfully. Keep moving forward in prayer. Keep moving forward in healing. Keep moving forward in obedience. Keep moving forward in the assignment. Keep moving forward in your discipline. Keep moving forward in the Word.

Do not spend so much time staring at where you came from that you miss what God is showing you ahead. The waters behind Israel returned to their place after the crossing. The path God used to bring them across was not intended to become the path they repeatedly traveled backward. Some doors close behind you because God wants you to stop treating backward movement as an option. That does not mean you will never remember. It means remembering will no longer determine your direction.

You can thank God for Egypt without returning to bondage. You can thank Him for the wilderness without rebuilding a tent there. You can thank Him for the Jordan without spending the rest of your life standing beside it. There is territory ahead. And God is with you.

So, Good Morning Sunshine! Lift your head today. Recognize what God has already done. You are not standing where you used to stand. The Word has been renewing your mind, the Holy Spirit has been transforming you, and God has been preparing you for what comes next.

Allow your thinking, speaking, praying, preparation, and discipline to reflect where He has brought you. Carry the testimony forward. Carry the wisdom forward. Carry the lessons forward. Carry the Word forward. But leave the bondage behind. You have crossed over. Now keep it moving forward.

Let’s Pray:

Father, in the name of Jesus, thank You for bringing me across. Thank You for every place You delivered me from, every wilderness You sustained me through, every obstacle You helped me overcome, and every Jordan You opened when I could not see a way forward. Thank You that I am not standing where I used to stand. I may not yet see the fullness of everything You have promised, but I recognize that You have already brought me farther than I sometimes realize. Father, help me acknowledge my growth without becoming prideful and acknowledge the work that remains without becoming discouraged. Do not allow me to confuse unfinished with unchanged. Open my eyes to the ways Your Word has renewed my thinking, Your Spirit has changed my responses, and Your Presence has strengthened me. Where I have become emotionally stuck in something You intended me to pass through, help me move forward. Teach me how to carry the testimony without carrying the trauma, how to carry wisdom without carrying bitterness, and how to remember where You brought me from without allowing yesterday to determine tomorrow. Father, let my thinking catch up with my crossing. Renew every area of my mind that still expects old outcomes. Let my words reflect faith rather than fear. Let my prayers reflect expectation rather than defeat. Let my preparation reflect what I say I believe and let my discipline reflect the responsibility of the territory You are bringing me into. Teach me how to prepare for what I have been praying for. If there are habits that cannot sustain the next season, give me discipline to change them. If my schedule needs adjustment, give me wisdom. If my boundaries need strengthening, give me courage. If there is something I need to finish, give me consistency. If there is something I need to release, give me grace to let it go. Father, I declare that I am more anointed today than I was yesterday but keep that declaration rooted in humility and surrender. As the anointing increases, let my obedience increase. Let my wisdom, compassion, discipline, discernment, integrity, and dependence upon You increase. I do not simply want a greater gift; I want greater capacity to carry what You entrust to me well. God, help me walk the fine line as I pursue the narrow path. Help me move confidently without becoming prideful, pursue excellence without becoming consumed by perfection, establish boundaries without hardening my heart, and recognize growth without believing I have outgrown my need for You. I have not passed this way before, so keep me close to Your Presence. I do not want to move ahead of You, and I do not want fear to make me lag behind You. Teach me to recognize Your voice and respond when You speak. When You say move, give me courage to move. When You say wait, give me patience to wait. When You correct me, give me humility to adjust. Father, I release the need to have the entire journey figured out. Give me grace for the next step. I will not become discouraged because there is still territory ahead. I will not allow future battles to make me forget past victories. I will not spend so much time looking backward that I fail to recognize where You are leading me now. Thank You for bringing me out of bondage and teaching me how to walk in liberty through Your Word. Thank You for bringing me across the Jordan. Thank You for what You have changed in me and for what You are still developing. Today, I choose forward movement. I choose obedience. I choose discipline. I choose faith. I choose Your Word. I choose Your Presence. I have crossed over, and by Your grace, I will keep moving toward the promise. In Jesus Christ Name, Amen.

Nugget ~ You are no longer standing where you used to stand. Do not confuse unfinished with unchanged. God has already brought you through too much for you to keep living mentally, emotionally, and spiritually on the other side of the Jordan. Carry the testimony, wisdom, lessons, and Word with you, but leave the bondage behind. Let your thinking, speaking, praying, preparation, and discipline catch up with your crossing. You have crossed over. Now keep it moving forward.

Blessings…

Love, Dr. Jean…