Joshua 3:3–4 (NKJV) — “and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. 4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before..”
Exodus 33:14–15 (NKJV) — “Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people. 14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’”
Israel’s journey into the Promised Land was never simply about reaching a destination. From Egypt to the wilderness, from the wilderness to the Jordan, and from the Jordan into Canaan, God was teaching His people how to walk with Him. He was forming a people who would know His voice, obey His Word, depend upon His provision, and recognize the necessity of His Presence.
When Israel prepared to cross the Jordan, Joshua instructed them to watch the ark of the covenant and follow it because they had “not passed this way before.” The ark represented God’s covenant and Presence among His people. They did not need to know every detail about what was ahead because they had something greater than a complete map: they had God’s Presence leading them. Moses had understood this same truth when he told God, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.” He understood that a promised place without God’s Presence was not worth having.
Israel needed God’s Presence in Egypt, in the wilderness, at the Jordan, at Jericho, and while possessing the land. Reaching the promise never eliminated their need for God. If anything, greater territory required greater dependence upon Him. That truth brings this week’s journey together. You walked out of bondage into liberty through the Word of God. You crossed over, began leaving Egypt’s mindset behind, learned that new territory requires new discipline, and discovered that a wall does not mean you crossed the wrong way. Now you must learn to embrace the promise without allowing the promise to become greater than His Presence.
Sunshine, you made it to Day Five, but this is not the end of your journey. Crossing over was never simply about leaving something behind; God brought you out because He was also bringing you into something. You can look at your life and recognize that your thinking is different, your discernment is stronger, your boundaries are healthier, your faith has matured, and your willingness to obey God has grown. You are not standing where you used to stand, and that is worth thanking God for.
Yet answered prayer carries responsibility. You can become so busy managing what you prayed for that you slowly neglect the One you prayed to. You can become so excited about the open door that you spend less time with the God who opened it. You can become so focused on building, growing, producing, and possessing that the blessing begins competing with the Blesser for your attention. Let Moses’ words become the posture of your heart: “God, I am grateful for where You are taking me, but I do not want where You are sending me more than I want You.”
The Promised Land should never become the place where you stop needing the God who brought you there. It is easy to pray when you desperately need God to open the door; maturity is continuing to pray after the door opens. It is easy to seek Him when you do not know what to do; maturity is continuing to seek Him when you have gained enough experience to believe you can handle things yourself. Never allow familiarity with new territory to make you less dependent upon the One who gave it to you.
Joshua told Israel to follow the ark because they had never passed that way before, and the same is true for you. You may have crossed over, but you have never lived this exact season before. You have never carried this exact combination of responsibility, opportunity, influence, experience, and anointing. You still need God here. Yesterday’s revelation cannot replace today’s relationship, and yesterday’s obedience cannot substitute for today’s yes.
You have said, “I am more anointed today than I was yesterday.” Let that declaration remain rooted in humility. If you are more anointed today, desire to be more surrendered today. If God enlarges your territory, enlarge your prayer life. If He increases your influence, increase your dependence upon Him. If He sharpens your gift, deepen your character. The goal is not simply to become more gifted; it is to become more yielded.
As you embrace the promise, remember what the journey taught you. Egypt taught you about deliverance, the wilderness taught you dependence, the Jordan stretched your faith, and Jericho taught you obedience, discipline, and strategy. God did not bring you through those places so you could continue living there. He brought you through so you could carry the wisdom forward. You can remember Egypt without rebuilding it, remember the wilderness without camping there again, and remember the Jordan without spending the rest of your life standing at the riverbank talking about the crossing.
Carry the Word that taught you to walk in liberty, the testimony that reminds you of God’s faithfulness, the discipline that helps you steward what He gives you, and the humility that reminds you that you did not arrive here by yourself. Most importantly, carry an awareness of His Presence. You have not passed this way before, so you need the One who already knows the way.
There will still be moments when you do not know what comes next. There may be another wall, another unfamiliar opportunity, another decision, or another place where what worked yesterday no longer works today. Stay close to God. His Presence will help you discern when to move and when to wait, when to speak and when to remain silent, when to accept an opportunity and when to walk away. You do not need to know everything about where you are going when you remain close to the One who knows the way.
This is where your prayer life becomes even more important; “God, help me walk the fine line as I pursue the narrow path.” Help me enjoy what You give me without worshiping it. Help me walk confidently without becoming prideful, remain disciplined without becoming rigid, and build without becoming consumed by what I am building. Help me recognize that every open door is not necessarily my door and every opportunity is not my assignment. Keep me close enough to You to know the difference.
You are not crossing over to prove anything to people. You do not have to prove that you have changed, that you are anointed, or that you belong in the territory. You are moving forward because God has more for you, and sometimes “more” does not mean more things. Sometimes more means more wisdom, maturity, patience, discernment, humility, obedience, peace, and freedom. Do not measure your Promised Land only by what you possess externally. Some of the greatest evidence that you have crossed over will be what God has changed inside of you.
Maybe you no longer respond the way you once responded. Something that once controlled you no longer has the same power. You may be able to forgive without reopening an unhealthy door, hear “no” without questioning your identity, wait without panicking, or be overlooked by people without forgetting that you are seen by God. That is liberty. That is growth. That is evidence that the Holy Spirit has been transforming you.
The greatest testimony at the end of this journey should not simply be, “Look where I made it.” Let your testimony be, “I arrived still loving God, still seeking Him, still obeying Him, and still depending upon Him.” Reach the promise and still have a prayer life. Reach it and remain humble, teachable, and sensitive to His voice. Reach it and still be able to say, “God, if Your Presence is not in it, I don’t want it.”
Sunshine, do not stand at the Jordan looking backward, God brought you out, His Word taught you how to walk in liberty, and the Holy Spirit has been transforming you. You crossed over, learned discipline, and faced the walls. Now continue moving toward everything God has prepared, but do not move so quickly toward the promise that you move away from His Presence. You have not passed this way before, but God knows the way. He knows where the road turns, where the walls are, where provision is waiting, which relationships belong in your next season, which doors should remain closed, and where you need courage to move. Lift your head, set your heart toward what is ahead, and allow His Presence to lead you. You walked out of bondage into liberty with the Word of God. You crossed the Jordan, left Egypt behind, developed discipline, and faced the wall. Now embrace the promise but stay close enough to His Presence that wherever He leads, you can follow.
Let’s Pray:
Father, in the name of Jesus, thank You for this journey. Thank You for bringing me out of bondage and teaching me through Your Word how to walk in liberty. Thank You for every Egypt You delivered me from, every wilderness You sustained me through, every Jordan You helped me cross, every place where You taught me discipline, and every Jericho that forced me to seek Your strategy instead of depending upon my own strength. When I look back, I can see that Your Presence has been with me through every part of the journey. Father, now that I am moving toward the promise, keep my heart close to You. I do not want to become so focused on where You are taking me that I forget Who is taking me there. I do not want the blessing more than I want the Blesser. I do not want the promise more than I want the Promise Keeper. I do not want the territory if possessing it causes me to neglect Your Presence. Let the cry of Moses become the cry of my heart: if Your Presence does not go with me, I do not want to move without You. If an opportunity looks good but You are not in it, give me courage to say no. If a door opens but walking through it would require me to compromise my obedience, give me wisdom to walk away. If something looks smaller than what I expected but Your Presence is there, teach me to value Your Presence more than appearances. Father, teach me to follow You because I have not passed this way before. I do not know everything this new territory holds, but You do. You know every turn, every wall, every relationship, every opportunity, every challenge, every blessing, and every decision that is ahead of me. I do not need to know everything if I remain close enough to hear You. Keep Your Word alive in me. Let it continue renewing my mind and guarding my heart. When Egypt tries to call me backward, remind me that I do not live there anymore. When fear tries to make me retreat, remind me of the Jordan You already opened. When resistance makes me question the journey, remind me that You knew about Jericho before You brought me across. When increase comes, remind me that greater territory requires greater discipline and deeper dependence upon You. Father, help me walk the fine line as I pursue the narrow path. Teach me how to possess without becoming possessed by what I possess. Teach me how to increase without becoming prideful, how to lead without becoming self-important, how to build without becoming consumed, how to establish boundaries without hardening my heart, and how to walk confidently while remaining completely dependent upon You. As the anointing upon my life increases, let my surrender increase. As my influence increases, let my humility increase. As my responsibilities increase, let my prayer life increase. As my opportunities increase, let my discernment increase. As my territory increases, let my hunger for Your Presence increase. Father, protect me from becoming too familiar with what I once prayed for. Never let me forget the nights I prayed, the tears I cried, the lessons I learned, and the grace that carried me. Let gratitude remain in my heart even after the answer becomes normal. Thank You for what You have changed inside of me. Thank You that I am not who I was in Egypt. Thank You that the Word has been working in me, the Holy Spirit has been transforming me, the wilderness has developed me, the crossing has stretched my faith, discipline has matured me, and the walls have taught me to depend upon Your strategy. Father, I declare that I am more anointed today than I was yesterday, but Father, keep me humble enough to know that the anointing belongs to You. Let me be more surrendered today, more obedient today, more teachable today, more compassionate today, more disciplined today, and more sensitive to Your voice today. God I am not crossing over to prove anything to anyone. I do not need people’s applause to validate what You have done in me. I do not need to convince anyone that I have grown. My responsibility is to follow You faithfully. Father, I surrender the next part of the journey to You. I surrender my plans, my expectations, my timelines, my ambitions, and even my understanding of what the promise should look like. If Your plan looks different from mine, teach me to trust Yours. If Your timing is slower than mine, teach me to wait. If You move faster than I expected, give me courage to follow. God I want the promise, Father, but I want You more. When I arrive, let me arrive still loving You. Let me arrive still seeking You, still obeying You, still worshiping You, still depending upon You, still listening for Your voice, and still willing to change direction whenever You speak. I have walked out of bondage into liberty through Your Word. I have crossed over. I am leaving Egypt behind. I am learning discipline. I will not allow the walls to send me backward. I will continue moving toward everything You have prepared for me. But wherever I go, Father, let Your Presence go with me. Lead me, and I will follow. In the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Nugget ~ The Promised Land was never meant to replace the Promise Keeper. You walked out of bondage into liberty with the Word of God, crossed the Jordan, left Egypt behind, learned discipline, and faced the walls. Now embrace what God has prepared but stay close to His Presence Carry the Word, the lessons, the testimony, the discipline, and the humility into your new territory, but above everything else, carry an awareness of God. The greatest testimony is not simply, “I reached the promise.” It is, “I arrived still loving Him, still seeking Him, still obeying Him, and still depending upon Him.” You have not passed this way before, but God knows the way. Follow His Presence and keep moving toward the promise.
Blessings…
Love, Dr. Jean…
Have A Great Weekend…
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