I have not been feeling well for the past week or so. My chronic illness has flared up a bit. Due to some unusual situations, I had to go off my diet, which affected my health. Work has also been stressful, and to top it all off, we had a family funeral last week. So here I sit on Sunday afternoon with my journal in hand, trying to meditate on the scripture I just read while dreading the week ahead.
The scripture for today was Joshua chapter 4, where the Israelites crossed the Jordan into the promised land. God stopped the waters for them so they could cross. God tells Joshua, as they are crossing, to take 12 men, one from each tribe, and as they cross, they are to take a stone from the middle of the river. These were not small stones. They were rocks they would have to shoulder to get to the other side.
Once all the Israelites had crossed and the water started flowing again, they were to use the 12 Stones to build a memorial to remember what God had done for them. This memorial recalled two events. Not only did it remind them of what just happened in crossing the Jordan, but it also pointed to how God had parted the waters so they could cross the Red Sea when they left slavery in Egypt.
I have been through many times where I did not feel well. Some have been much worse, and the Lord brought me through all of them. It is times like these when we feel like we have an uncrossable Jordan River in front of us, keeping us from the promised land, that we need to remember the times when God brought us through in the past.
To help me remember, I tend to write. Many articles on this site are me working through difficult times. Though they may not state so explicitly, they are like memorial stones to remember the Lord’s gracious work in my life. Typically, I write them while still in the middle of the river. I am shouldering stones, preparing to rejoice when the trial is over. Not only does he bring us through the hard times, but the hard times themselves become a blessing.
As the Israelites looked back on these stones, I am sure they praised God for parting the waters and bringing them through. However, they likely did another thing: praise God for the water itself. Had it not stopped them in their tracks and left them feeling stuck, they would have never seen the Lord move on their behalf the way they did. Due to the hardship, his power and goodness became more apparent to them. They now knew God better because of the trial.
So, this writing will be one more stone lifted from the middle of the river and added to all the others to create a memorial to remind me that God is always faithful. The other and most important thing it reminds me of is that my sin once barred me from the promised land, but Jesus set me free from my bondage by dying on the cross and rising again on the third day. He has already made a way and granted me access to the promised land, and this minor trouble I am facing today has no power to nullify that. It only causes me to remember and rejoice. He is faithful not only in getting us through the trials but also in giving us the trial in the first place. He is a good and gracious God, and the week ahead will be just fine.
-D. Eaton
The Fight of Faith 
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