Key points
1The Israelites' story mirrors our own in-between seasons
Pastor Joel sets up Joshua 3, explaining that Israel is camped on the edge of the promised land with a flooding, life-threatening Jordan River blocking the way. He draws the parallel that we often know where we came from and sense where God is taking us, yet face an obstacle in front of us that we can't overcome on our own.
2God asked the priests to step into the water before He performed the miracle
Pastor Joel highlights that stepping into the flooding Jordan did nothing to physically part the water — God asked for obedience first, not after the danger was removed. He argues that God still often asks for simple, one-step-at-a-time obedience before He makes the path clear, rather than giving us a five-year plan.
you step out in obedience, I'll show up in power
3We often wait for God to move first, when He is waiting on us to obey first
Applying this to broken relationships, sin struggles, and isolation, Pastor Joel says obedience might look like forgiving someone who hasn't apologized, confessing sin instead of hiding it, or stepping into community. He's careful to clarify this isn't a call to reckless or impulsive decisions, but to simple obedience to what God has already made clear.
We think we're waiting on God but sometimes the only time we see the miracle is when we stop waiting and we start stepping out in obedience
4God kept His promise, but 20 miles away from where Israel could see it
Using maps, Pastor Joel shows that Scripture says the river was dammed at a town called Adam, roughly 20 miles upstream — meaning God acted the instant their feet touched the water, but it looked to Israel like nothing was happening. He says this explains why it can feel like God is absent even when He is actively at work, just further upstream than we can see.
God was present and he was working but to the Israelites it felt like he was absent and doing nothing
5When it feels like God isn't showing up, the missing thing is usually perspective, not power or presence
Drawing on years of counseling young adults who feel they're doing their part while God isn't doing His, Pastor Joel names two things people assume they're missing — God's power or God's presence — and reframes it: what's actually missing is the perspective to see that God is already working, just not yet visible.
What we are missing is the perspective of God
6Israel's response models standing firm rather than bailing or taking control
Pastor Joel notes that Joshua and the priests stood in the riverbed for an unknown length of time with no visible sign of a miracle, yet didn't retreat or build their own workaround. He applies this to waiting on a spouse, a financial breakthrough, or family reconciliation — situations where the temptation is to take control rather than stand firm.
7God had Israel stack stones so they would remember His faithfulness before they settled into the promise
In Joshua 4, God tells Joshua to have 12 men pull stones from the riverbed and stack them as a memorial, explicitly so future generations would ask about them and hear the story of the crossing. Pastor Joel notes God even ties this back to the Red Sea crossing 40 years earlier, showing that Israel — and we — are prone to forget what God has already done.
8Personal testimony: remembering God's past faithfulness in a painful season
Pastor Joel shares that his wife has battled severe postpartum anxiety, OCD, and depression over the past year, and that he has wrestled with why God hasn't yet healed her. He describes deliberately recalling past seasons of confusion and pain where God proved faithful — his call to ministry, the birth of his daughter — as a way of trusting God's faithfulness in the present unresolved season.
nothing is powerful in the dark, let's just bring it into the light with our brothers and sisters in Christ
A story from life
Account of the preacher's wife experiencing postpartum anxiety, OCD, and depression over the past year, and the family's search for God's faithfulness through that season
Application
Pastor Joel frames the charge as three moves for the in-between: step out, stand firm, and stack stones.
Step out in obedience now
Identify where you've been standing on the shore waiting for God to move first, and do the thing He has already made clear — even before it makes sense or feels safe.
Stand firm instead of bailing or building a boat
When it feels like God isn't showing up in your relationship, finances, or family situation, resist the urge to take control or give up, and trust He is working even where you can't see it.
Stack a stone of remembrance
Call to mind a specific past season where God proved faithful, and let that memory fuel your trust that He will be faithful in your current in-between.
Take it into your week
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