As a boy I enjoyed reading history. I had a favorite book from which to read. In that book about American history the first chapter was titled “Footholds on a New World.” There was a picture on the title page of a 16th century Spaniard dressed in his armor coming onto some American shore. The chapter’s title was very illustrative of what the Spanish and others were trying to accomplish, that is, to establish a first step into a new future. To them, being on the shore of a new world was a miracle.
Miracles are by definition a marvelous events manifesting a supernatural act of God. Miracles come in many different ways, forms, times, and events. The most common miracles today are those of healing from an illness, a deliverance from a problem, or a great blessing of aid. Taking a breath is a miracle of grace. Every believer will experience more than one in his or her lifetime. Sometimes, the person may not even perceive it when it happens. However, there are those times when we pray for a miracle to take place in our lives for whatever situation. There are those times when we seem not to receive any such Divine help from above regarding our situation. There are two reasons for this. First, what we are asking may not be in accordance with God’s will for us. Second, we may not receive the miracle until we make a foothold upon it. One fine example of this second reason is found in Joshua 3:15-17 when the children of Israel were to cross the swollen Jordan River.
Perhaps you, like Israel, are up against a seemingly difficult dilemma in your life and are in need of a miracle. For Israel their dilemma was to get multitudes of men, women and children safely across a wild raging river. When a river is flooded, there is no safe way to wade across to the other bank without being swept away with the current. Does your problem seem as difficult? What can you do? There are certain times when God only performs miracles when we by His leading take a foothold in it. The key to Israel’s deliverance was to take that step of Faith first, then see the miracle unfold. The text in Joshua records that the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant began to step into the edge of the fast flowing water and then moved a little ways in it until all were in the river, then God caused the water to stand up in a heap so that all the people could pass on dry ground. What a miracle! But this miracle did not take place until the priests bearing the Ark had a foothold in it.
Why does God require us to have a foothold on a miracle before it takes place? The answer is that He wishes to include a human interaction to cement the fact that it is God who is in charge of the circumstances. It is one thing to sit back and let God do the work, but in those times in which He desires our participation, He does much more than the miracle itself. There are many illustrations of this fact such as when Jesus had the unsuccessful fishermen to cast their nets once again and they brought in a boatload of fish, or when Jesus had some men roll away the stone to the tomb of Lazarus as Jesus raised him from the dead, or when Jesus bade Peter to walk on the water to Jesus to strengthen Peter’s faith. This pattern is not isolated but is widely illustrated in Scripture. God desires us to have a small, yet meaningful, part in His plan. One thing to note is that God is not hindered in any way if the believer does or does not participate. However, the participation further shows Him the desire on the part of the believer to seek God and give Him glory. He also wishes to see our measure of true faith, which denotes our earnestness for His help.
How far does a foothold commit the believer, and what difficulties can be expected? As the text in Joshua explains, the priests did not see the miracle until they were in the water. You may be committed a little or a lot depending on God’s will: however, you will not get anywhere over your head or travel into any strange situation without God being with you. The road may be difficult or fearful starting out. There may be steep challenges that you have cowered from in the past. Perhaps this is what is keeping you from starting out. Fear, like any other sin, is a tool of the Devil that he will tempt you with to hinder you in any way of taking hold on God’s blessings. The priests who bore the Ark knew if they would drop it in the swift water, or if the Ark were to become defiled in any way, they would instantly be killed. But they could not stand on the riverbank and expect the miracle.
Are you seeking a miracle today? Does it seem as if nothing is happening? It may be that God is waiting for you to step out in Faith and take that first foothold and claim that miracle in His name.
Jon Browning
© 2005 Bible Center Church
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