THE WORD FOR TODAY

STEP INTO THE WATER

'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' Matthew 3:17 NKJV

When Jesus was baptised, ‘the heavens were opened to Him…And suddenly a voice came from Heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” ’ (Matthew 3:16–17 NKJV) That day when Jesus stepped into the River Jordan, He was stepping into the fullness of God’s purpose for His life. Those waters were teeming with the sins of mankind. John had baptised multitudes of converts there; their sins figuratively passing from them into the sea of God’s forgetfulness, just like the waters of the River Jordan end up in the Dead Sea. Maybe you’re appalled at the idea of Jesus wading into sin. But He was doing it to fulfil the purpose of God: redemption for you. Jesus was exactly where God wanted Him to be, doing exactly what God wanted Him to do. That’s why His Father announced, ‘ This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. ’ There’s a lesson here for you. Doing God’s will sometimes means stepping into messy situations and troubled waters. But when you obey God and do what He says, you won’t have to speak up for yourself or fight for yourself. God will command whatever forces are involved to yield to you, honour you, listen to you and even bless you. You won’t have to flounder around for the right answer, or wonder if something is right for you. God will give you the ability and resources you need because you’re where He wants you to be, doing what He wants you to do. So the word for you today is ‘step into the water’.

SoulFood: Lev 11:1-13:37, Luke 1:57-66, Ps 42:6-11, Prov 1:24-28

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright