Joshua: Leading Wherever You AreSample

I love stories from my family’s history, but as years have lunged forward, the details of the Swanstrom family’s early years in America have begun to fade. It’s that way for so many of us, isn’t it? Memories fade, details diminish, and reality dims as time moves on.

For the Israelites, remembering where they came from and how they got to the Promised Land was crucial as they fought for their place as a distinct people after hundreds of years of slavery. When we’ve finally arrived where God’s been leading us, we can’t forget how we got there. In other words—we cannot forget our "why".

Before the priests ever stepped foot in the Jordan, God gave Joshua some very specific instructions for after they crossed: to select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from each tribe. If you’re like me, you might be wondering, Where’s the rest of the information? 

Once again, Joshua and the Israelites were to trust. God would eventually shed light on the purpose behind choosing these twelve individuals, but for now, they didn’t need to know.

Once the people of Israel crossed the river safely and made it to dry ground, these twelve chosen men get more information. Before the wall of water crashed back down, the twelve men were to place twelve stones on top of each other as a symbol of the Twelve Tribes, because God wanted the entire family to be involved in what He was doing. He asked the whole company to come together as one and actively remember where they had come from, recognizing that He would bring them onward toward a fulfilled promise.

Beneath the flowing water of the Jordan River, the pile of rocks remained. Even after things went back to “business as usual,” the core and foundation had changed. It’s the same for us. After we place the internal memorial stones of God’s work, our insides flow a bit differently.