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. 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.’”
This Is Not a New Series, But It Is a New Day! While reading Friday’s devotional, one sentence from Joshua 3:4 suddenly stood out: “For you have not passed this way before.” The Scripture was not new, but the revelation was fresh. That is one of the beautiful things about the Word of God. You can read the same passage again and again, and although the words have not changed, you have. You are reading from a different place, after different experiences, with greater maturity and a deeper awareness of God.
After one of the most trying seasons you may have experienced in a long time, God can use a familiar Scripture to remind you that you cannot depend upon preconceived ideas about how you are supposed to get from where you are to where He is taking you. You may think you know the route because you have walked with God for years, survived previous battles, developed wisdom, and gained experience, but you have never lived this exact day before. You have never carried this exact combination of responsibility, opportunity, influence, experience, and anointing. You still need God here.
When Joshua told Israel to keep a measured distance between themselves and the ark, it was not separation from God; it allowed the people to clearly see the ark and know which way to follow. There were thousands of people crossing, and they needed an unobstructed view of the presence that was leading them. Spiritually, there is a lesson here for you: give God room to lead. Do not crowd His direction with your assumptions, hurry, fear, opinions, plans, or need to know everything in advance. Pay attention. Keep your eyes on Him. You have not been this way before.
This continues what you have already learned through Crossing Over. Egypt taught you deliverance, the wilderness taught you dependence, the Jordan stretched your faith, and Jericho taught you obedience, discipline, and strategy. But you are no longer standing at the edge talking about crossing. You have crossed. Therefore, do not become frustrated when God repeats a Scripture, lesson, or instruction. You may hear something you heard before, but you are not hearing it from the same place. The Bible does not have to change for its revelation to meet a changed you.
God brought you out because He was also bringing you into something. Now that you are here, you need His presence more, not less. Never allow experience to make you believe you no longer need direction. Yesterday’s revelation cannot replace today’s relationship, and yesterday’s obedience cannot substitute for today’s yes. If God enlarges your territory, enlarge your prayer life. The goal is not simply to become more gifted; it is to become more yielded.
So, these next five days are about learning how to walk when you have not been this way before. Keep your eyes on God, maintain the space necessary to see clearly, stay focused, pay attention, and walk. You do not need the entire map when you can clearly see the One who knows the way.
Good Morning Sunshine! You Have Not Been This Way Before!
Joshua 3:4 (NKJV) — “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.”
Israel was preparing to cross the Jordan into territory they had never occupied. Joshua instructed the people to watch the ark of the covenant, which represented God’s covenant and presence among them. They were to follow it, but they were also instructed to maintain enough distance to see where it was going. God was not withholding His presence; He was positioning His people so they could clearly recognize His direction.
They did not receive a detailed map of everything that would happen after the crossing. They received something better: God’s presence going before them. Their responsibility was to watch, follow, and obey because they had never passed that way before.
You Don’t Know This Road, But God Does! Sometimes one sentence in Scripture will stop you because God allows you to see something you did not see before. The words may have been there every time you read the passage, but suddenly they meet you differently because you are different. That is what happened with these words: “You have not passed this way before.” You may think you know how this next part should happen. You have experience now. You have survived some things, learned some things, prayed through some things, and gained wisdom from previous seasons. Experience is valuable, but experience can become dangerous when it causes you to assume that God must lead you tomorrow exactly as He led you yesterday. You have not been this way before.
You have never lived this exact day. Depending on your age, you have seen a whole lot of Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. You may have even lived through thousands of them, but guess what? No two of those days were exactly the same. You do not get a do-over of yesterday, and you cannot live next Monday using only the instructions God gave you for last Monday. Whatever God has assigned to you on this Monday is connected to the grace, purpose, and responsibility He has given you for this day. And if God allows you to see another Monday, that Monday will bring its own opportunities, decisions, lessons, and instructions. The name of the day may repeat, but the day itself never does. That is another way to understand, “You have not been this way before.” You have never lived this Monday before. You have never lived this moment, carried this level of wisdom, or stood in this exact place with God before. So do not approach today on autopilot simply because the calendar looks familiar.
Pay attention. Ask God, “What are You saying to me today? What have You assigned to me today? Which way are You leading me today?” The calendar may repeat, but your journey with God is still moving forward. You have never carried this exact combination of responsibility, opportunity, experience, influence, and anointing. You may recognize parts of the landscape, but this is still new territory. That means you cannot allow familiarity to replace dependence upon God.
Sometimes God has to interrupt your assumptions and say, “Pay attention. Don’t get ahead of Me simply because you think you know where this road goes.” You may have a preconceived idea about how the door should open, who should help you, what the opportunity should look like, how quickly something should happen, or which route will get you there. Yet Proverbs 3:5–6 reminds you to trust in the Lord with all your heart and not lean on your own understanding, acknowledging Him so He can direct your paths. You do not have to know the route when you know the Guide.
Perhaps this season is not asking you to figure everything out. Perhaps God is asking you to become more attentive. Watch where His presence is moving. Listen before making assumptions. Pray before responding. Seek Him before saying yes simply because an opportunity looks good. You crossed over, but crossing over did not mean you stopped needing direction. In fact, new territory makes direction even more important. Do not become so confident because you crossed the Jordan that you stop watching the ark.
God knows where you are going, He knows what is around the next corner, He knows which door belongs to you and which one only looks attractive, He knows who belongs in this season and who does not, He knows where you need to move quickly and where you need to slow down. Your responsibility is not to know everything. Your responsibility is to stay close enough to recognize His leading and attentive enough to follow it. You have not been this way before, Sunshine. That is not something to fear. It is an invitation to deeper dependence. You do not need to be afraid of unfamiliar territory when the familiar God who brought you across is already leading the way.
Let’s Pray:
Father, in the name of Jesus, thank You for the gift of another day. Thank You for reminding me that although I may have seen many Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, I have never lived this day before. This day carries its own grace, its own assignment, its own opportunities, and its own instructions from You. Help me not to move through today on autopilot simply because parts of it look familiar. Awaken my spirit and make me attentive to what You are saying and doing right now. Lord, Your Word reminds me that I have not passed this way before. Because of that, I acknowledge that I need You. I may have experience, wisdom, education, gifts, and knowledge, but none of those things can replace Your direction. Forgive me for the times I have assumed I knew the way because I had been through something similar before. Keep me from allowing yesterday’s experience to become today’s instruction when You are trying to show me something new. Yesterday’s revelation cannot replace today’s relationship, and yesterday’s obedience cannot substitute for today’s yes. Father, teach me how to give You room to lead me. Quiet the noise around me and the noise within me. Move my preconceived notions, assumptions, fears, impatience, and personal agendas out of the way so I can clearly recognize Your direction. When I am tempted to run ahead of You, slow me down. When fear causes me to hesitate after You have said move, give me courage to walk. When I cannot see the entire road, remind me that I do not need the whole map when I am following the One who already knows the way. Help me to keep my eyes on You. Give me spiritual vision to recognize where Your Presence is leading. Sharpen my hearing so that I do not confuse Your voice with my emotions, desires, fears, or the opinions of others. Teach me to discern what is good from what is God, because every good opportunity may not be my assignment. Every open door may not be my door, and every direction others are taking may not be the direction You have chosen for me. Father, I have crossed over, and I thank You that I am no longer standing at the edge talking about going across. You brought me out because You were bringing me into something. Now teach me how to live, move, pray, serve, build, and obey in this new territory. Do not allow familiarity to make me careless or experience to make me independent. The more You entrust to me, the more I want to depend upon You. If You enlarge my territory, enlarge my prayer life. If You increase my influence, increase my humility. If You increase the anointing upon my life, increase my surrender. Thank You for every difficult place that taught me something I need for where I am now. I will remember Egypt without rebuilding it, remember the wilderness without camping there again, and remember the Jordan without returning to the riverbank. I will carry the wisdom, the lessons, the testimony, and the discipline forward, but I will keep my eyes facing the direction You are leading me. Lord, help me walk the fine line as I pursue the narrow path. Give me enough space to see clearly, enough patience to wait for Your direction, enough faith to move when You speak, and enough humility to admit when I do not know the way. Keep me focused. Help me pay attention. Order my steps according to Your Word. And Father, if You allow me to see tomorrow, remind me that tomorrow will require another yes. I do not want to live tomorrow on yesterday’s instructions. Give me fresh grace for every new day and keep my heart sensitive enough to ask, “Lord, what are You saying to me today? What have You assigned to me today? Which way are You leading me today?” I have not been this way before, but You have already gone before me. Therefore, I will not fear unfamiliar territory. I will watch for Your Presence, listen for Your voice, trust Your direction, and walk when You say walk. Lead me, Father. I am paying attention. In the Name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen.
Nugget ~ You have not been this way before. Don’t let what looks familiar cause you to move without God’s direction. Today carries fresh grace, fresh purpose, and a fresh assignment. Keep your eyes on God, pay attention, and follow where He leads.
Blessings…
Love, Dr. Jean…
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