Before phones gave us turn-by-turn directions, somebody would say, “Just follow me.” You would pull out of the parking lot behind them and try to keep up.
If you have ever done that, you know the trick. You cannot ride their bumper. You cannot pull up beside them either.
If you are right beside them, you cannot turn when they turn. You need a little space. You need enough distance to see the blinker and the brake lights so you are ready to move when they move.
Kim does not like following anyone in a caravan. She doesn’t like being followed either. But even she would tell you the space between the cars is what keeps you on the right road.
Most of us want more than brake lights from God. We want the whole map. I would love an itinerary for the next ten or fifteen years of my life. I would settle for knowing what Bitcoin is going to do.
Scripture: Joshua 3:4 — “Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.”
Additional reading: Psalm 119:105 — “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Israel stood on the bank of the Jordan at flood stage. They had never crossed this river. They had no idea how God would get them to the other side.
So God did not give them a map. He gave them something to follow. The ark of the covenant would go first, and the people would follow about 2,000 cubits behind. That is a little more than half a mile.
Part of that distance was about holiness. God is holy and we are not, and his presence deserves reverence.
But Joshua gives a second reason. “In order that you may know the way you shall go.” The distance helped them see. From half a mile back, the whole nation could watch where the ark went and turn when it turned.
I don’t usually turn exactly when God wants me to turn. He nudges me on a Monday, and on Friday of the next week I am still scratching my head. Maybe you know that feeling.
God rarely hands us the whole route. Most days his Word is a lamp to our feet. It gives just enough light for the next step. Other days it is a light to our path, and we can see a little further down the road.
Alexander Maclaren said that God often opens his hand one finger at a time. That is how he leads. He shows us enough to take the next faithful step.
You may be standing at a river of your own this week. A decision about school or work. A doctor’s report. A plan that did not work out. You have not passed this way before.
You do not need the whole map. You need to keep your eyes on the One who goes ahead of you and stay ready to move when he moves.
Reflect: Where are you asking God for the whole map when he has already shown you the next step? What would it look like to take that step this week?