Crossing Your Jordan: How to Move From Where You Are to Where God Wants You to Be

Meta Description: Are you facing an impossible situation? Discover three biblical keys from Joshua 3 that will help you cross your Jordan and reach your God-given destiny. URL Slug: crossing-your-jordan-three-keys-to-reaching-your-promised-land Featured Image: A wide, flowing river at sunrise with a path leading to the water's edge — symbolizing the threshold of faith and the journey forward.

Have you ever felt stuck — like no matter how hard you try, you just can't seem to break through? Maybe you're facing a situation that looks absolutely impossible, and you're wondering if God has forgotten about you.

This past Sunday, I shared a message from Joshua chapter 3 that I believe is for anyone standing at the edge of their own Jordan River. I want to bring it to you here, because I'm convinced someone reading these words today needs to hear it.

The Wilderness Was Never the Destination

Before we get to the Jordan, we have to understand the wilderness. God had set Israel free after 400 years of bondage in Egypt. They were headed to a land flowing with milk and honey — a place of prosperity, abundance, and blessing. But because of their fear and lack of trust, what should have been an 11-day journey became 40 years of wandering.

The wilderness represents those seasons in life when nothing seems to be growing, nothing is working out, and if it's not one thing, it's another.

But here's what I need you to understand: God uses the wilderness for development. When a woman is pregnant, she doesn't give birth the next day. Arms, legs, fingers, toes — intricate parts of that baby are developing inside of her. In due season, the baby comes forth. God may have us in a wilderness season because He's working on removing habits, attitudes, and behaviors that would hinder us from reaching our full potential.

Development may not feel good to us, but it is good for us.

Three Keys to Crossing Your Jordan

When Israel finally arrived at the Jordan River, they faced a new problem. Normally the river ran 3 to 6 feet deep and 33 feet wide. But this was harvest season. Snowmelt from upstream had turned the Jordan into a raging flood — a mile wide and 20 feet deep, overflowing its banks. And God said, cross it.

Joshua chapter 3 gives us three keys for crossing our own impossible rivers.

1. Preparation

"Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over." — Joshua 3:1

Three days of preparation took place before Israel moved forward. Before God created humanity, He prepared the earth first — the sun, moon, stars, land, and sea. Preparation is always first.

To cross our Jordan, we must prepare by removing whatever is hindering us. If it doesn't glorify God, let it go. If it's a habit keeping you back, let it go. If it's a relationship pulling you down, let it go. Whatever is blocking you from total surrender to God — let it go. The sooner we surrender our will to God's will, the sooner we can cross our Jordan.

2. Follow God

"When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it... for you have not passed this way before." — Joshua 3:3–4

The ark of the covenant represented the very presence, holiness, and power of God. When the ark moved, Israel moved. When it stopped, they stopped. The ark is mentioned 14 times in Joshua chapter 3 alone. God was saying: follow Me.

Nothing has changed today. There are situations, circumstances, and temptations in our lives that are more than we can handle on our own. That's why God has given every believer a spiritual GPS — not just the global positioning system in our phones, but what I call the GFSH: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. At the moment of salvation, we receive the Holy Spirit as our receiver. We send up a signal through prayer, and God responds — through a sermon, a song, His Word, or a still small voice placed on our hearts.

The key is to follow His instructions and not the world's.

3. Trust God's Amazing Power

"And as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water... the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap... So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground." — Joshua 3:15–17

God told Israel to step into the raging river. That was a step of faith. As long as they stayed safely on the bank, nothing happened. But the moment the priests stepped in, God showed up and showed out. The river stopped flowing. It piled up 20 miles upstream at the city of Adam, giving nearly 2 million people room to cross — on dry ground.

That which was wet became dry. That is the amazing power of God.

It was God's amazing power that parted the Red Sea. That rained down manna from heaven. That protected the three Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace. That kept Daniel safe in the lion's den. And over 2,000 years ago, it was God's amazing power that raised Jesus Christ from a borrowed tomb on the third day — with all power in His hands.

That same God can help you cross your Jordan today.

Your Next Step

I don't know what your Jordan River looks like right now. I don't know what's blocking you from the life God has purposed for you. But I know this: He is able. He is willing. And He is waiting for you to step out in faith.

Stop looking at your circumstances and start focusing on the One who can change your circumstances.

If this message resonated with you, I'd encourage you to watch the full sermon and share it with someone who may be standing at the edge of their own impossible river. And if you're ready to take a step of faith — whether that means surrendering your life to Christ, letting go of something that's been holding you back, or simply trusting God in a new way — today is the day to move.

You have not passed this way before. But God has — and He'll lead you through.

Social Media Excerpt (Facebook/Instagram): Are you facing an impossible situation — a Jordan River that seems too wide, too deep, and too dangerous to cross? This Sunday's message from Joshua 3 revealed three powerful keys: prepare by letting go of what's holding you back, follow God's lead even when the path is unfamiliar, and trust His amazing power to make a way where there seems to be no way. Read the full post and share it with someone who needs this today. 🙏

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