Is God Working Upstream?

Joshua 3 holds a special place in my mind because it reminds me of a fabulous sermon by our Pastor.  He talked about it as God working upstream in our lives.  I remember the maps and everything from that Sunday.  I don't remember exactly what was going on at the time, but I do remember thinking, "I really needed to hear that."  Well, reading this again has hit me with, "I really needed to read that," all over again.  How can I believe that God is going to stop that water when I step in?  How could the Israelites be sure?  I know they had their proof in the Red Sea, but that was a long time ago for me.  I like science and I like proof.  Sure, God may be working upstream in my life, but where's the proof?  The proof is in the trust and waiting that I have to do - not one of my strengths to say the least!
If I was there, would I even be ready to cross the Jordan?  If I had to purify myself to cross, I would have to work on my anger.  I am easily angered when things don't go the way I want them to go.  The problem is that the anger becomes like maple syrup and it oozes all over and makes everything sticky.  It is hard to get rid of sometimes.  It probably would not be such a problem if I stopped and listened and let Him lead.
I found it easy to follow God to Kenya and I wasn't so bad about listening to Him when I first returned.  However, in the  months since I have come home it is like I am driving further and further away from a favorite radio station.  There is more and more static.  I don't stop and try to tune in better, I keep moving.  It is like when we were little and had those rabbit ear antennae on the TV.  My older sister and I were charged with the task of moving them all over the place so my dad could watch TV.  I just keep moving and it doesn't get any better.  I need to stop and tune back in.  I am sure I could follow better if I did that.  I feel as though I follow God in areas of service.  I have always felt compelled to help those "in need."  That is good for the most part, but I was the one defining "in need."  It is a nice area to follow God and I unexpectedly followed God in that area right to Kenya.  It was an amazing trip of service, discovery, and friendship and I look forward to going back in the future.  There were lots of obstacles that cropped up after I put my deposit down for the trip, but God made it possible for me to go without glitches.  I do have trouble letting Him lead in other areas of my life like finances, career, and relationships.  It is not usually until I have made some blunder that I stop and tune in to see what He has to say.  Therefore, I have a lot of work to do in that area.
As I read this passage in Joshua, one of the words that struck me in the word study was PURIFY.  I love words.  I read a lot of the Old Testament verses with purify and I was struck with the idea of Penance in the Catholic Church.  Penance is when one goes to the priest and confesses his/her sins.  The priest then gives prayers and sometimes service that needs to be done to make amends for the sins.  I am thinking that getting those sins out in the open, exposing them, does help people to purify themselves.  I looked purify up on dictionary.com and here is what I found....

pu·ri·fy

 [pyoor-uh-fahy]

verb, -fied, -fy·ing.

–verb (used with object)

1.

to make pure; free from anything that debases, pollutes,adulterates, or contaminates: to purify metals.

2.

to free from foreign, extraneous, or objectionable elements:to purify a language.

3.

to free from guilt or evil.

4.

to clear or purge (usually fol. by of  or from ).

5.

to make clean for ceremonial or ritual use.

–verb (used without object)

6.

to become pure.

I was struck by the terms "Free from" and the concept of cleaning.  It made me think of cleaning up before going out to dinner with someone.  It also made me realize that I would have to "clean up" certain areas of my life to better spend time with God and to follow His word.  I need to be patient, tune in, and let Him lead.  I know I would not have been the first to put my feet in the Jordan, but I would have crossed.