DEVOTIONALS

5 Day Devotional

This week’s devotional invites you to revisit the “middle” places where faith feels wet, cold, and unfinished—and to expect God to work there. As you reflect, you’ll learn to step forward before you feel ready, stand so others can pass through, and gather memorial stones that keep your story anchored to God’s power.

Day 1

Joshua 4:10

The middle is rarely comfortable. In Joshua’s story, the priests stood in the Jordan while everyone else crossed, holding their ground until God finished what He promised. The miracle wasn’t only that the water stopped—it was that obedience required them to remain in the messy place long enough for others to make it through.

Sometimes following God means staying faithful in a season that still feels unresolved. You may be between a diagnosis and healing, a prayer and an answer, a calling and its fulfillment. God doesn’t always remove the problem immediately; sometimes He holds it back just enough for you to walk forward, learn trust, and witness His timing up close.

• Where are you “in the middle” right now—what feels unfinished or uncertain?
• What would faithful obedience look like in that middle place this week (one specific step)?
• What emotions are tempting you to retreat (fear, impatience, control), and how can you surrender them to God in prayer?
• Who might be crossing behind you—who is watching your faith and being helped by your endurance?
• Write a short prayer asking God for the grace to stand where He placed you until His work is complete.

Day 2

Joshua 3:15-17

Israel didn’t see dry ground first; they stepped while the river was still at flood stage. God’s pattern often includes movement before clarity, obedience before evidence, and stepping forward while you can still feel the pull of the current. Faith isn’t pretending the water isn’t there—it’s trusting God more than what you feel.

If you’ve been waiting for conditions to change before you obey, today is an invitation to move. God may not erase every risk or unanswered question, but He can make a way in the exact place that feels impossible. The step doesn’t earn the miracle; it positions you to experience what God already promised to do.

• What “flood stage” obstacle are you waiting to shrink before you obey?
• Name one clear instruction God has already given you through Scripture, wise counsel, or conviction.
• What is one small, measurable step you can take in the next 24 hours that aligns with that instruction?
• What would it look like to trust God’s character even if your circumstances don’t change immediately?
• Tell someone you trust the step you’re taking and ask them to pray for courage and follow-through.

Day 3

Joshua 4:1-3

God told Israel to take stones from the middle of the Jordan—the very place where fear and faith collided. He didn’t ask for souvenirs from the riverbank but memorials from the miracle’s center, because God knows how easily we forget what He’s done once we reach dry ground. Remembering is spiritual warfare against discouragement.

Your “stones” are the moments God sustained you when you couldn’t sustain yourself: the peace that didn’t match the pressure, the provision that arrived at the last moment, the strength to forgive, the courage to keep going. When you intentionally gather those memories, you build a foundation for future obedience and a testimony that can steady you when the next battle approaches.

• What is one “stone” from your past—an undeniable moment of God’s help—that you’ve stopped revisiting?
• How could you capture that memory today (journal entry, note in your phone, photo, date written down)?
• What lie does discouragement tell you that this remembered “stone” corrects?
• Who needs to hear a specific story of what God has done for you, and when will you share it?
• Choose one daily reminder (a verse card, alarm title, or journal prompt) to help you remember God’s faithfulness this week.

Day 4

Joshua 4:21-24

God’s instructions about the stones included a purpose: future generations would ask, and God’s people would answer. Testimonies aren’t private trophies; they are public signposts pointing others to the power and faithfulness of the Lord. Your story becomes a bridge when someone else is standing in the same river you once feared.

This also reshapes why God brings you through. He’s not only rescuing you from something—He’s revealing Himself through you so that others can know His hand is powerful and learn to revere Him. When you tell the truth about what God carried you through, you give people language for their own faith and courage for their own next step.

• If someone asked, “What did God do for you in that season?” what would you say in 2–3 sentences?
• What part of your story are you tempted to hide, and how might God use it to help someone else?
• Who is one person (child, friend, neighbor, coworker) you can intentionally encourage with your testimony this week?
• How can you tell your story in a way that highlights God’s faithfulness more than your strength?
• Pray for an opportunity to share, and commit to taking it when God opens the door.

Day 5

Joshua 4:12-13

After the crossing, Israel moved toward Jericho. Deliverance wasn’t the finish line—it was preparation. God brings you through the water to teach you how to stand, because the next season will require courage, clarity, and endurance. The obstacle you’re facing now may be training you for responsibility you can’t yet see.

You’re bigger than the battle not because you’re naturally strong, but because God goes before you. If He made a way through what should have drowned you, He can also bring down what looks unconquerable. Instead of asking only, “Why is this happening to me?” begin to ask, “What is God forming in me for what’s ahead?” and then take your place with confidence in Him.

• What “Jericho” might be next for you—a challenge, calling, or responsibility on the other side of your current season?
• How has this current struggle strengthened something in you (patience, humility, perseverance, compassion, discernment)?
• What is one fear about the next battle that you can surrender to God today by name?
• What practical preparation can you begin this week (prayer plan, budgeting step, counseling appointment, Scripture memorization, reconciliation conversation)?
• Write a declaration of faith you can repeat when anxiety rises: “If God brought me through the water, He will bring me through the walls.”

‍