Out of Comfort and Into the River
by: Emma Franklin
April 15, 2026
“So when the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan with the priests who were carrying the ark of the covenant before the people, and when those who were carrying the ark came up to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were submerged at the edge of the water, the waters which were flowing down from above stopped and rose up in one mass a great distance away at Adam … So the people crossed [the river] opposite of Jericho. And while all [the people of] Israel crossed over on dry ground, the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, until all the nation had finished crossing over the Jordan”
When the Lord was leading the Israelites out of Egypt, He told Moses, “Tell the sons of Israel to move forward [toward the sea]. As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the sons of Israel may go through the middle of the sea on dry land,” [Exodus 14:15-16, AMP]. Once Moses obeyed and stretched out his hand over the sea, “the Lord turned the seabed into dry land, and the waters were divided” [Exodus 14:21, AMP] and the Israelites could see the path that the Lord had marked out before them that was leading to their salvation.
Shortly after the Israelites made their exodus from Egypt, the Lord commanded Moses to have the Ark of the Covenant built [Exodus 25]. Over these forty years in the wilderness, God’s people learned not only to trust His provision, but they learned how to be led by His presence. God made His presence manifest in unmistakable ways during this season: pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, bread from heaven in the morning and quail in the evening, and water flowing out of the rock. At the end of these forty years, the Israelites found themselves at a place much like the gate that first led them into the wilderness – standing at the waters of the Jordan River, preparing to cross into the long-awaited Promised Land. In Joshua 3, we read:
Did you catch the key difference between the way the Israelites were led into the wilderness and the way they were led out? The Lord parted the waters of the Red Sea BEFORE the Israelites stepped foot in the water, but He did not stop the waters of the Jordan until the feet of the priests were fully submerged in the river. When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea they were being pursued by their enemy and were motivated more by fear than faith. Forty years later, standing at the banks of the Jordan River, we see God’s people clinging to the words of His promise and choosing obedience motivated by faith. The priests willingly stepped into the rushing waters, trusting that what God had promised on the other side was worth stepping out of their comfort zone for. They chose to walk by faith rather than by sight.
Walking with God requires increasing levels of obedience and faith. As the Lord matured the people of Israel in the wilderness, they learned to step out in faith by standing on the words of their faithful God. Life in the Kingdom of God is one of risk and stepping out of our comfort zone. The Lord may have led you into salvation with signs and wonders and nurtured you in His goodness and comfort for a season, but the more we walk with Him the more we grow in His presence and learn to carry His power.
As disciples of Christ, through the Holy Spirit in us, we should now be releasing signs and wonders as co-heirs of His Kingdom. It is a promise from Jesus Himself that “These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will get well,” [Mark 16:17-18, AMP]. People of God, it is time to step out of comfort and into the River! There is much more on the other side of our comfort zone than we could even imagine.
Prayer
Thank You, Jesus, that You are the River of Life! In You, I have fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. In You, I find faith to see mountains removed and cast into the sea. In You, I find faith to step out of the boat and into what You have promised. Holy Spirit, help me to lean on Your power and Your presence more today than I did yesterday. Help me to choose faith over comfort. May You receive the full reward of Your suffering in me.
Worship: God I Look to You
Further Study
Joshua 3
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When the Lord was leading the Israelites out of Egypt, He told Moses, “Tell the sons of Israel to move forward [toward the sea]. As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the sons of Israel may go through the middle of the sea on dry land,” [Exodus 14:15-16, AMP].