Then Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” – Joshua 3:5
God was about to lead His people across the Jordan, but before telling them to step forward, Joshua told them to prepare themselves. The wonder was God’s work, yet He invited His people to pause, consecrate themselves, and be ready for what He was about to do.
Before the wonder, there was preparation
Israel stood at the edge of something they could not accomplish on their own. The Jordan was before them, the promised land was ahead, and God was about to make a way where there seemed to be no way. But Joshua did not tell the people to figure everything out or find a way across. He told them to consecrate themselves.
That word carries the sense of being set apart for God. It was a call to turn their attention toward Him and prepare their hearts for His work. The wonder would not come because Israel had made themselves worthy of it. God had already promised to go before them. Their consecration was a response to the God who was faithful to His word.
What are we making room for?
It is easy to become so occupied with what is happening around us that we have little room to notice what God is doing. We can spend our days trying to control outcomes, solve problems, and anticipate what comes next. Yet sometimes the faithful response is quieter: to stop, surrender, and remember whose hands our lives are in.
Consecration can look like that. It is not about creating a spiritual performance that persuades God to act. It is about bringing our hearts back to Him. We loosen our grip on our plans and make ourselves available to His purposes. Like sheep following their shepherd, we do not need to know every turn in the path before we take the next step.
God was already going ahead of them
The most encouraging part of Joshua’s command may be what it assumes. God was about to do something. Israel did not have to manufacture the wonder. They were being asked to prepare themselves because the Lord was already at work.
We often want to know exactly what God is going to do before we trust Him. Joshua 3:5 gives us a different picture. The people were told to consecrate themselves before they saw the Jordan part. Their preparation came before their understanding.
There may be seasons when we cannot yet see how God will make a way. We may not know what tomorrow holds, and Scripture does not promise that every difficulty will end in the particular way we hope. But we can still give ourselves to Him today. We can trust His character when we cannot see His next step.
Be ready to see what God is doing
Joshua’s words invite us to live with a quiet expectancy. Not the kind that assumes God must perform the wonder we have imagined, but the kind that keeps our hearts attentive to Him. Consecration helps us remember that our lives belong to God before they belong to our plans, our fears, or our expectations.
So perhaps the question for today is not simply, “What wonder will God do?” It is also, “Is my heart turned toward Him?” We can place ourselves in His hands, surrender what we cannot control, and follow where our Shepherd leads. Whatever tomorrow brings, the God who went before Joshua and Israel remains worthy of our trust today.
We may not yet see the way forward. But we can prepare our hearts to walk with Him when the way appears.