ESOCS Devotional 31 August 2026 – Obedience Activates Power
MEMORY VERSE: Joshua 3:17“The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel passed by until whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.”
TEXT: Joshua 3:7-17
And the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8 You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan.’ ”
9 So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God.” 10 And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites: 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. 12 Now therefore, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe. 13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap.”
14 So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 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 (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), 16 that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 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, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.
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Israel was on their way to the promised land. They were to displace and take over the lands of the Canaanites, Hivites and other nations whose lands God marked out for the Israelites. (Joshua 3:10). They witnessed the wonders of God. As God gave direction they obeyed under the leadership of Joshua and they saw miracles and victory. If we want to experience miracles and victory in life, we must learn to hear God and obey him.
God does not honour the disobedient servant. Some of us suffer shame and disappointment because we either disagree with the word of God or vary it. Joshua in leadership kept strictly to God’s directives. His followers also kept strictly to the words of Joshua. For this reason, God said to Joshua in verse 7 “I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel.”
Joshua’s exaltation in Israel came from the wonders that happened when the priests and the people obeyed his directions. The flowing water piled up as the feet of the priest carrying the ark touched the Jordan river in keeping with the words of Joshua (verse 9-17).
We should realize in life that the earth is the Lord’s, the fullness of it and all people of earth. God is Omnipotent and there is nothing that can escape his attention or resist his power. Let us therefore learn from the scriptures and order our lives in accordance with what the scripture teaches. Those who do, will start to tell testimonies of the wonders and miracles of God in their lives. There is nobody in the Bible who did not have a testimony to celebrate after obeying God. You may be the next, if you hearken to the word of God that you hear every day.
Question
Can you confirm that those who obey God experience miracles?
Prayer
Father, reveal your word to me, speak to me and I will do it. I desire more of your wonders and miracles in Jesus name. Amen.
Further Reading:
Daniel 5:1-12, Matt. 5:27-37, Heb. 13:17-end.
ESOCS Devotional 31 August 2026
