A Place You Have Never Been

At church we have been reading through Joshua and talking about leadership...how each of us is being called or is leading in some area of their life and what a Biblical picture of this is. A few months ago Randy talked about Joshua 3 and it is something that has come up again and again for me, thus the post.
In Joshua 3, the Lord is calling the Israelites to cross the Jordan River. Now it describes the Jordan in this way: v 15 "for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of the harvest" So the Lord tells Joshua to have several priests carry the ark of the covenant of Lord into the rushing waters of the Jordan and then for the 40,000 or so Israelites to follow. Not sure about you, but if I was following Joshua I would have a lot of problems with this plan and would be able to tell him about 17 other plans that would work better, not his crazy plan to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord into rushing, overflowing waters (read pride, control). In the Lord's command to do this, he says at the very end v.4 "for you have not passed this way before." Again, I would be muttering under my breath, yea, I have never been this way before because nobody has ever had such a ridiculous plan as this.Oh and the Lord says the Ark is to travel a certain distance ahead of the people.
If you continue reading the chapter you see that as soon as the priests carrying the Ark step into the rushing waters, the water stops. Now the Israelites are following at their specific distance behind the Ark, so they can see that the Lord has provided and that they have a clear, dry path to cross the Jordan. Then all the people cross and before the waters start to rush again, Joshua has the people gather stones from the bed of the Jordan River and pile them in a location.These stones are Ebeneezer stones, or reminders of how the Lord provided for the people, to remind them, for them to tell their children, etc. Remember
In different "leading" roles and really just in general in life lately, I feel like the Israelites might have felt; like the Lord is leading me into this crazy place. But in his statement that "you have not passed this way before" is a glorious reminder that the Lord is the one doing the work...I have not had the experience or the capacity to know how to do what he is leading me into. But He is the one leading, and lets me know that he will provide and that his promises are true, and that my job is to follow where he is leading. They were led by the ark of the covenant of the Lord, by this promise that the Lord made with them...and I am led by promises. I am also told to remember...and for me in remembering I lay aside my fears as I know that he is providing in this circumstance just has he has historically for me.
Keep reading in Joshua...the next thing the Lord does is stop them all to circumcise the men and force them to rest and heal...