Thriving...in Spite of It

Tag, you’re it! Joshua turned from the surging of the Jordan river, overflowing its banks that day, and faced the crowd of millions of Israelites, all looking at him in anxious expectation. “What now?” they seemed to say, in unison. They had come so far, and been through so much, since, after a shock-and-awe show of force by God, Pharaoh had finally released them from generations of slavery. Moses had led them out, and led them through the desert, through miracles and tragedies, mountains and valleys, until, at last, here they all stood, literally on the brink of entering the promised land. Moses was gone, and now Joshua stood in his place, once again, on the edge of a river--a barrier between where they stood and where they belonged. Yet, today, the river seemed even more imPASSible and impossible than the Red Sea crossing that began their journey. This time, there were no soldiers in hot pursuit. There was no Pharoah waiting to drag them back into slavery. Their enemies were left so