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

We all need faith for desperate days, and the Bible is filled with accounts of such days. Its story is told with them, its songs are inspired by them, its prophecy deals with them, and its revelation has come through them.

Desperate days are the stepping-stones on the path of light. They seem to have been God’s opportunity to provide our school of wisdom.

Psalm 107 is filled with stories of God’s lavish love. In every story of deliverance, it was humankind coming to the point of desperation that gave God His opportunity to act. Arriving at “their wits’ end” (Psalm 107:27) of desperation was the beginning of God’s power.

Remember the promise made to a couple “as good as dead,” that their descendants would be “as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore” (Hebrews 11:12). Read once again the story of the Red Sea deliverance, and the story of how “the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan” (Joshua 3:17 NASB). Study once more the prayers of Asa, Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah when they were severely troubled, not knowing what to do. Go over the history of Nehemiah, Daniel, Hosea, and Habakkuk. Stand with awe in the darkness of Gethsemane, and linger by the tomb in Joseph of Arimathea’s garden through those difficult days. Call to account the witnesses of the early church, and ask the apostles to relate the story of their desperate days.

Desperation is better than despair. Remember, our faith did not create our desperate days. Faith’s work is to sustain us through those days and to solve them. Yet the only alternative to desperate faith is despair. Faith holds on and prevails.

There is not a more heroic example of desperate faith than the story of the three Hebrew young men Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Their situation was desperate, but they bravely answered, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:17–18). I especially like the words “But even if he does not”!

Let me briefly mention the Garden of Gethsemane and ask you to ponder its “nevertheless.” “If it be possible . . . nevertheless . . .” (Matthew 26:39 KJV). Our Lord’s soul was overwhelmed by deep darkness. To trust meant experiencing anguish to the point of blood, and darkness to the very depths of hell—Nevertheless! Nevertheless!

Find a hymnal and sing your favorite hymn of desperate faith. S. CHADWICK

When obstacles and trials seem Like prison walls to be, I do the little I can do And leave the rest to Thee.

And when there seems no chance, no change, From grief can set me free, Hope finds its strength in helplessness, And calmly waits for Thee.

For Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest.

The priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.—When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee.

Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.