Who can help but admire those brave Levites! They carried the ark of the covenant right into the water, for the river was not divided until “their feet touched the water’s edge” (v. 15). God had promised nothing else.

God honors faith—stubborn faith—that sees His PROMISE and looks to that alone. We can only imagine how bystanders today, watching these holy men of God march on, would say, “You will never catch me running that risk! The ark will be swept away!” Yet “the priests . . . stood on dry ground” (v. 17). We must not overlook the fact that faith on our part helps God to carry out His plans. Be willing to come to the help of the Lord.

The ark of the covenant was equipped with poles so the priests could raise it to their shoulders. So even the ark of God did not move itself but was carried. When God is the architect, men are the bricklayers and laborers. Faith assists God. It can shut the mouths of lions and quench the most destructive fire. Faith still honors God, and God honors faith. Oh, for the kind of faith that will move ahead, leaving God to fulfill His promise when He sees fit! Fellow Levites, let us shoulder our load, without looking as though we were carrying God’s coffin. It is the ark of the living God! Sing as you march toward the flood! THOMAS CHAMPNESS

One of the distinguishing marks of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament church was the spirit of boldness. One of the great essential qualities of the kind of faith that will attempt great things for God and expect great things from God is holy boldness and daring. When dealing with a supernatural Being and taking things from Him that are humanly impossible, it is actually easier for us to take a lot than it is to take a little.

And it is easier to stand in a place of bold trust than in a place where we cautiously and timidly cling to the shore.

Likewise sailors living a life of faith, let us launch our ships into the deep. We will find that all things are “possible with God” (Luke 18:27), and “everything is possible for one who believes” (Mark 9:23).

Today let us attempt great things for God, taking His faith to believe great things and taking His strength to accomplish them! DAYS OF HEAVEN UPON EARTH

The Israelites were not to wait in the camp until the Jordan was opened but to “walk by faith” (2 Corinthians 5:7 KJV). They were to break camp, pack up their belongings, form a marching line, and actually step into the river before it would be opened.

If they had come down to the riverbank and then stopped, waiting for the water to divide before stepping into it, they would have waited in vain. They were told to “set foot in the Jordan” before “its waters . . . will be cut off.”

We must learn to take God at His word and walk straight ahead in obedience, even when we can see no way to go forward. The reason we are so often sidetracked by difficulties is that we expect to see barriers removed before we even try to pass through them.

If we would only move straight ahead in faith, the path would be opened for us. But we stand still, waiting for the obstacle to be removed, when we ought to go forward as if there were no obstacles at all.

What a lesson Christopher Columbus taught the world—a lesson of perseverance in the face of tremendous difficulties!

Behind him lay the gray Azores, Behind the gates of Hercules; Before him not the ghost of shores, Before him only shoreless seas.

The good Mate said: “Now we must pray, For lo! the very stars are gone. Brave Admiral, speak, what shall I say?” “Why, say, ‘Sail on! sail on! and on!’”

“My men grow mutinous day by day; My men grow ghastly pale and weak!” The strong Mate thought of home; a spray Of salt wave washed his sunburned cheek.

“What shall I say, brave Admiral, say, If we sight only seas at dawn?” “Why, you shall say at break of day, ‘Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!’”

They sailed. They sailed. Then spoke the Mate: “This mad sea shows its teeth tonight. He curls his lip, he lies in wait, With lifted teeth, as if to bite!

Brave Admiral, say but one good word; What shall we do when hope is gone?” The words leapt like a leaping sword: “Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!”

Then, pale and worn, he kept his deck And peered through darkness. Ah! that night Of all dark nights! And then a speck— A light! A light! A light! A light!

It grew, a starlit flag unfurled! It grew to be Time’s burst of dawn. He gained a world; he gave that world Its grandest lesson: “On! sail on!”

J. R. MILLER

Faith that goes forward triumphs.