Courage to Carry

Happy New Year!!!!

I have a prayer board that hangs in my kitchen. A black chalkboard from Pottery Barn with a

thick painted wooden frame. It’s quite large, with faint markings of past messages etched in

layers underneath its current content.

I’ve lined it with verses, promises, and names. A composition of sorts—not of musical notes, but of petitions to God. The names of my family members line the top of the board. Names of friends rest soundly in the middle. And then there are the names of people that I don’t know.

You, my sweet friend, are on that board.

The very bottom of the board is lined with people who have impacted my life but I don’t necessarily have a personal relationship with. Next to each name is a prayer request that changes with each season that passes. Usually every six months, I change the requests based on the needs, dreams, and desires of those I pray for.

The prayer board rests peacefully on the side wall of my kitchen in a natural pathway from the dining room to the family room. I walk through that area of the house multiple times a day, and at times I feel as if I live in that pathway. I’ve thought about moving it to a quiet room—a room just for me to spend time with God in—but for some reason I can’t seem to part with it in this oh-so-public place.

When I look up from cooking dinner for our family of six, there it is. When I walk about my house in my quiet time with Jesus, there it is. When I go to leave home, once again, there it hangs as a beacon. A constant companion, ever reminding me of the importance of peacefully petitioning Jesus in my personal relationship with Him.

There are moments when I have taken a high top stool from my kitchen island, slid it directly in front of the board, and just sat there, reading aloud every prayer that is written on that board.

In the midst of this masterfully chalked creation, stationed unyieldingly at eye level, two simple words are written. These words hold a private depth of meaning to me. They are words that whisper the voice of God to my soul and carry wells of wisdom beyond my years. Words that I form much of my life around. The words are written in quiet confidence.

Presence Carrier.

“When the priests got to the Jordan and their feet touched the water at the edge (the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest), the flow of water stopped. It piled up in a heap—a long way off—at Adam, which is near Zarethan. The river went dry all the way down to the Arabah Sea (the Salt Sea). And the people crossed, facing Jericho. And there they stood; those priests carrying the Chest of the Covenant stood firmly planted on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed on dry ground. Finally the whole

nation was across the Jordan, and not one wet foot.” Joshua Chapter 3

I can vividly remember the day God spoke to my heart from Joshua Chapter 3. For many years, I took my time reading Joshua Chapter 1. Studying it, reveling in the meaning behind the passage and what it must have been like. Posting verses like “Be strong and courageous” as sticky notes. I mean, come on, most of us think of Joshua 1:9 as the poster verse for this specific book of the Bible.

So I would read chapter one, admittedly expecting God to speak, then continue to read through the rest of the book in lieu of what God had spoken, not fully anticipating Him to speak again. But as I’ve learned throughout the years, that is no way to read God’s love letter to you. In every chapter and every verse, as we seek to discover and nurture a heart to listen, God can speak in every nuance and seemingly insignificant verse.

Enter my God-moment in Joshua 3.

Now, please note, I was content with what God had already spoken, but little did I know that in the mundane moment of my day, God was about to rock my world.

The priests of the Old Testament were assigned to carry the presence of God, represented in the ark of the testimony. Having lived through years in the wilderness they had seen God miraculously provide in countless ways. They understood the gravity of their position and I am perfectly positive a reverent fear gripped their hearts.

I don’t know what it looked like to have the presence of God descend from heaven in the form of a cloud and cover the Tent of Meeting, residing on the ark of the covenant, but I can imagine it would be a sight unlike any other.

In Exodus 40, the Bible says Moses was unable to minister in the tabernacle because of this very cloud. Can you imagine God’s presence surrounding you, enveloping you, touching

every part of your outer and inner being while at the same time actually having the ability to see it with your own eyes?

“There I will meet with you, [God says] ... from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you.” Exodus 25:22

God met with His people and His presence literally rested on the ark of the testimony. The powerful presence of God, creator of heaven and earth. I'm speechless. These priests in Joshua 3 were assigned to carry this ark with them into the land of promise before them. They had already heard the voice of God tell them to be strong and courageous back in chapter

one. But it’s one thing to command it and an entirely different business to be the first ones to carry it through.

With their years of waiting to enter into God’s promised land, I can imagine they were anxious,

specifically because it was God who was asking them to take the first step into the Jordan River. The Jordan River was overflowing its banks during this time of year, which could potentially make it a treacherous journey.

Why does it seem like God sometimes makes things more difficult right before we are going to cross over into our promise? I believe it’s because God is making a way for miracles only He can do.

But God doesn’t cease to amaze. The minute the priest's feet touched the edges of the Jordan River, the waters that were overflowing completely stopped and rose up like a giant wall, all the way back to the city of Adam. For those of you wondering, Adam was a good thirty miles upstream.

Seems like when God is going to perform a miracle, He does it far beyond what we could ask or think. He goes all out so there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that He is the One who accomplished it.

He also always has the big picture in mind. How else would He get two to three million people

across the river in a relatively doable amount of time? He cleared more than just a path for them; He made a highway for millions to cross over into the promise. To top it all off, they crossed over on dry land.

Did you know it can take decades for a river to dry up due to base flow and groundwater seepage which many times is unnoticeable to the human eye? This was in fact a miracle that

only God could do.

What takes natural man decades to accomplish, God can do in an instant.

As the waters receded in a heap, the priests held the presence of God firmly in the middle of the river, standing on dry ground, until ...

An entire nation crossed over into their promised land.

I believe God wants to use your life to bring a miracle into the lives of others this year. You are a presence carrier my sweet friend. Don't waste it. Believe God for big things that align with His heart for your life and this world. Take time out to sit before God and ask Him, "What do You want me to believe You for this year?" "What do you want me to pray about?" "In what areas do I need to trust You to do a miracle?" "What do I need to release + what do I need to grab ahold of?" I know God will give you vision for what's ahead as you seek Him.

"Join me for 21 days of prayer and fasting this month beginning on January 9th. Many times a miracle is in the making while we, God's people, begin praying God-sized prayers behind the scenes."

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