Monday: The Living God of Wonders
Daily Lesson for Monday 13th of October 2025
Read Joshua 3:6-17. What does the miraculous crossing of the Jordan tell us about the nature of the God whom we serve?
The crossing of the Jordan River is described in Joshua 3:5 by the Hebrew word niphla’ot, “miracles, wonders,” which usually refers to the mighty, supernatural acts of God that demonstrate His uniqueness (Psalms 72:18, Psalms 86:10). Later, the Israelites meditated on these acts and, as a result, praised the Lord (Psalms 9:1) and proclaimed Him among the nations (Psalms 96:3). The plagues in Egypt (Exodus 3:20, Micah 7:15), the crossing of the Red Sea, and God’s guidance in the wilderness (Psalms 78:12-16) were recounted as such wonders.
Image © Bible Adventure Collection at Goodsalt.com
The authors of the Bible knew and testified to the fact that the God who created the world was never limited or constrained by His creation. Nothing is impossible (Heb. “too wonderful”) for Him to accomplish (Jeremiah 32:17). His name and His nature are wonderful (Judges 13:18), and He is beyond our comprehension.
In contrast with the gods of the other nations, who cannot save (Psalms 96:5, Isaiah 44:8), the God of the Bible is a “living God,” active and alive, whose followers can trust Him in anticipation of His interventions on their behalf.
The prophet Zechariah used the same term (from the same root as niphla’ot) as he envisioned a future for Israel after the Babylonian exile. He saw that Jerusalem would be fully rebuilt with old people sitting in the streets of the city and boys and girls playing there. To the seemingly incredulous inhabitants of the capital still displaying the signs of its destruction, Zechariah declared: “ ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem’ ” (Zechariah 8:6-8, ESV).
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Read Luke 18:18-27. How does Jesus’ answer to His disciples encourage you to trust God with what seems impossible? |
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The most compelling evidence of God’s presence is not the temporary suspension of the laws of physics but rather tha change that God can make in a human heart resulting in unselfish love. All too often we spend a lot of time defending the miraculous crossing of the Jordan River, or the fall of Jericho’s walls, without paying attention to sharing God’s love with others, especially those we don’t like within our horizon of human contact.
Miracles, signs and wonders may be quite spectacular, but they are exceptional and often temporary. The Jordan flowed again, healed people eventually die. Changing a selfish. Self-centred heart may take time – it ame even be the work of a lifetime – but it is the miracle that God wants to perform on our lives.
If we focus on the spectacular, there is a serious danger that we will become deceived by false sign-makers and wonderworkers, who can grab our attention way from Jesus.
I am repeatedly reminded of the comments made by Jesus:
Our miracle that we can be a living part of is preaching the Gospel in an atmosphere of love and compassion.
Amen! Certainly, our focus is on the One who promised us He would make us fishers of men, definitely a miracle.
Matthew 4:19
Thank-you Maurice, for your insightful posts.
“And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.” (Matthew 11:23–24 ,NIV).
Jesus rebuked the inhabitants of Capernaum regardless of the numerous miracles performed there, they failed to believe. In steady of the miracles producing works of faith, they simply became spectacles to be observed without spiritual change. Likewise, God performed great wonders for the benefits of the Israelites and yet they remained stiff-necked. Miracles and signs are meant to lead to repentance and strengthen our faith. True faith trusts God even when there are no miracles.
Miracles and wonders may cause misplaced trust. Miracles can draw attention to the spectacular rather than to the God who performs them. People may follow signs instead of the Savior.
”Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs” (John 6:23, NLT).
My dogs are especially very noisy in the night, small things intrigue them and in response they perform some rhythm-less cacophony that if you listen carefully, you'll hear the same repeated by other dogs in the distance. This occurs routinely like clockwork especially in this month of October but most in February, when the whirling wind joins the orchestra. Then all of a sudden! It stops! The silence is bewildering, I check the time always, it's exactly 3:46am when this happens - Daily!?!
As I listen to the silence, the beauty of that moment is a miracle, and slowly, I offer a prayer of gratitude/adoration as I ask myself, "Must God perform a miracle for us to believe that He lives, loves, and protects?" Just as the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant had to step into the Jordan, trusting in God's promise (Joshua 3:6-8), we too must learn to trust in God's presence and power. The children of Israel had already witnessed the spectacular miracles of God. Every step of the way, one miracle followed another, but they - just like us - had overlooked the obvious wonder, that the only God of all creation had not only loved a "broken" people like Israel (Joshua 3:10), empowering Israel to overthrow their land, but He had stopped, rescued the breaking every chain as He restored Israel. But still, at the shore of the Jordan, Israel waited for a miracle again, so as to know God.
In that still silence of 3:46am that follows the choir of natural noise, no miracle or wonder is needed for God's work in me is felt, if I listen carefully I hear a living story of the great God of all creation as I breathe slowly in the distance hearing, I can hear my heartbeat join in another orchestra. Are you listening and observing carefully,
🤣 🤣 🤣 Stanley! You have made me want to visit and listen to that orchestra in the night before 3:46am. Thank you - I will be observant of my surroundings, Gods miracles are just here next to us! Thank you again!
A Jordan stretches before us; the challenges are too much for us. We must believe that nothing is too difficult for God. We must focus our souls on Christ and follow Him. We must cast out all sin and set ourselves apart to Him. And we must be ready to move when He does His work, always being mindful that if anything is going to last, it’s from the Lord. When the Israelites stood before the flooded Jordan, it seemed impossible to cross but God of wonders commanded them to step out in faith. As soon as the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant touched the water, the river stopped flowing, and the people passed over on dry ground (Joshua 3:13–17). God’s power turned an obstacle into a pathway, proving that He is the God of wonders who keeps His promises.
Today, our “Jordan” may be trials, fears, or impossible situations, but the same God who parted the waters still works in our lives. He asks us, like Israel, to trust Him fully and prepare our hearts for His mighty acts. Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you” (Joshua 3:5). When we set ourselves apart to God and follow His leading, He makes a way where there is none. The crossing of the Jordan reminds us that God’s wonders continue for those who believe, obey, and move forward in faith.
The crossing of the Jordan River wasn’t just a repetition of the Red Sea miracle; it was a divine reminder that the God of the past is also the God of the present. The same power that brought their fathers out of bondage was now bringing them into promise.
Spiritually, this moment teaches us several lessons about the Wonders of the Living God,
God’s power never diminishes with time.
What He did yesterday, He is still able to do today. The God who opened the Red Sea for Moses now opened the Jordan for Joshua showing that His wonders are not bound to one generation or one leader.
Faith bridges generations.
The new generation had only heard of God’s wonders. Now, they were seeing them for themselves. God doesn’t want us to live only on the stories of others — He wants each of us to experience His living power personally.
Obedience opens the way for miracles.
The priests had to step into the water before it stopped flowing. Faith is not waiting for the miracle before moving — it is moving in trust that the miracle will come once we obey.
God renews His covenant with each generation.
Crossing the Jordan was a sign that the promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were still alive. God never forgets His word.
As Ellen White adds (PP, p. 485):
“The Lord would give evidence that His power was the same as when He brought their fathers from Egypt.”
When you stand before your own “Jordan” obstacles between you and God’s promises remember: The living God still works wonders. What He did before, He can do again, and He desires each generation to see His glory for themselves.
The miraculous crossing of the Jordan River in Joshua 3:6-17 reveals several key aspects about the nature of the God we serve:
1. God is a living, active God who engages with His people and their history, unlike the powerless gods of other nations.
2. God is sovereign over nature and creation. He can supernaturally stop the flow of a major river, enabling the Israelites to cross on dry ground.
3. God’s miracles serve as confirmation of His leadership and promises. The crossing was a sign that God was with Joshua as He was with Moses, elevating Joshua's leadership and confirming God's faithfulness in giving the land to Israel.
The same God who stopped the Jordan’s flow still makes a way for us today, turning barriers into breakthroughs through His living power.
The Jordan crossing experience says to us today that God:
1. Is Understanding of our needs. It may be a time of year when our Jordan river is flooding and He is guiding us to cross. It certainly was for the Israelites, snow melting widening the creek to transform into a treacherous river for crossing without bridge in sight for thousands of years.
2. Is ready to show us He is with us, providing a way, I Will be with you. I Will go before you. I Will provide. I Will not forsake you. I Will show you I am trust worthy. In deed God gave and gives evidence of His promises.
Mark 1:41
John 4:14
Joshua 3:7
3. Is showing us His ever-loving care, mercy, kindness, longsuffering, patience, steadfastness, providing redemption all if we put our trust in Him.
4. Is to show He is all powerful. Ellen White says in Patriarchs and Prophets page 485. "This exercise of divine power in behalf of Israel was designed also to increase the fear with which they were regarded by the surrounding nations, and thus prepare the way for their easier and complete triumph...
To the Canaanites, to all Israel, and to Joshua himself, unmistakable evidence had been given that the living God, the King of heaven and earth, was among His people, and that He would not fail them nor forsake them."
I do have an honorable (perhaps unselfish) wish that seems impossible to my own eyes. And God knows what goes on in my heart. But I have to trust Him in everything, and have the assurance that this wish can happen not only to me but especially to His glory. He knows the right time.
Why would God even bother with ‘wonders’? What does He attempt to ‘impress’ us with? Or does He even care about what we think about ‘wonders’? ‘Wonders’, detached from the ‘source’ are readily explained by atheists as naturally caused. Believers in a God who created all things by His Power, are quite comfortable with accepting His ‘wonders’ as super natural.
The lesson writer asks: “What does the miraculous crossing of the Jordan tell us about the nature of the God whom we serve? If ‘Jordan' demarks the point in our life where we turned from being a casual bystander to a fully involved participant in God’s ‘wonders’, then it becomes important to know the ‘nature’ of our God.
God’s nature is revealed when crossing ‘Jordan’ by faith, entering the Promised Land to meet His Son, Jesus Christ, in order to become one with them in Spirit – John 14:19-21. Then, Jesus invites us to follow Him, for us to take on the 'nature of God' and show that we are one in Spirit with Him and the Father - Luke 18:18-27. Rescuing fallen man - offering Oneness in Spirit with his Creator God through His Son, Jesus Christ - extols the extraordinary, benevolent nature of our living 'God of Wonders'.
Just as the Israelites and the psalmists celebrated God’s miracles in creation and redemption, we too are called to marvel at His works both in the world around us and in the transformation of the human heart. The hymn writer captured this truth beautifully:
“It took a miracle to put the stars in place;
It took a miracle to hang the world in space.
But when He saved my soul,
Cleansed and made me whole,
It took a miracle of love and grace.”
The God who performed wonders in nature and history continues His greatest miracle today—the miracle of redemption. The same power that held back the Jordan River now holds back the flood of sin, bringing new life to all who believe. Truly, every act of deliverance—whether for a nation or a single soul—declares the glory of a God whose love and grace are the greatest miracles of all.