“Then [Joshua] said to the people, ‘Go forward and march around the city, and the armed men shall go on ahead of the ark of the Lord.’”
Joshua 6:7
The priests had no more than dabbled their feet in the Jordan River when its waters parted, spreading upstream and downstream at a great distance. The days of wandering in the wilderness had finally come to an end. Even so, the Hebrew people still had a great work to do, but with God as their advocate, they could do anything. They were finally entering their new home.
The generation before had received the same command: “Go forward.” They had fled the bondage of Egypt only to find themselves between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Mountains were to the left and to the right. Pharoah had reneged on his decision to let the Hebrew nation leave his clutches, so he and the Egyptian army were advancing behind them rapidly. Before the Hebrews lay the vast Red Sea.
The cloud pillar moved to the rear of God’s special people and kept the Egyptians in darkness. By some estimates, two million people crossed the dry, water-walled pathway to the other shore of the sea. The frustrated Egyptians likely heard the people’s footsteps, wagon wheels, and children’s voices.
As soon as the last child of God stepped beyond the eastern shore of the Red Sea, Moses dropped his rod, the darkness lifted, and the army rushed onto the sea floor. Within moments, the walls of water tumbled over the soldiers; frantically, they scrambled to save their own lives.
Now, approximately forty years later, God had parted the waters again. Once they were safely on the west side of the Jordan, God again gave the same command: “Go forward.” The people had been issued an unusual battle plan to conquer the great walled city of Jericho. God had revealed Himself so many times that the citizens of Jericho trembled at the sight of the Israelite army marching silently. Seven days later, the quivering Jerichoans realized their fear when their walls crashed about them.
“Go Forward” in 2023
Anita was returning to her much beloved Kenya in March 2023, twenty years after her first mission trip to the bitter land of the Maasai Mara. Marah/Mara means “bitter” in the Bible. Exodus 15:23 says, “When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, because they were bitter; for that reason it was named Marah.” Ruth 1:20 reads, “But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.”
During that initial excursion, a full-blown ministry was birthed with just one Bible study on the Mara. Mara Vision Outreach has nurtured several successful projects in the ensuing two decades.
As of this writing, the ministry now employs more than 80 pastors, teachers, and other workers who minister to the Samburu people, the Maasai in Kajiado County and on the Maasai Mara and Trans Mara regions. In Turkana County, 75 people await baptism. Every school day, Mara Vision’s teachers shepherd 12,000 students in the truths of the Bible in mostly government schools.
In the days since COVID, journeying to Kenya has become very different than what it once was. Visas must now be purchased and approved online, so going through customs upon arrival in Nairobi is theoretically quicker. Anita, however, carries a great deal of material with her for the Kenyan pastors and teachers who labor with their flocks. Often, search, seizure, or extra tariffs may be applied.
Anita and her team in the United States prayed specifically that what she was carrying would make it through customs without hassle. By 2022, post-COVID customs had dwindled to two lines, so we prayed that she would be able to choose the correct line to hasten her exit.
This year, Kenyan customs had only one line. No one was there when Anita arrived at the front of the line, where someone should have been asking her questions. The gate was wide open, like in the story of Peter’s escape from the executioner in Acts 12.
She stood there for a moment, wondering and waiting for clearance so she could proceed to find her ride to the guesthouse. No one came. God impressed her heart: “Go forward.” What else was she to do? The gates to the outside had been flung open for her to proceed and go about our Father’s business.
Call to Action
What will you do when the gates open for you? God opens doors to work for Him both in distant lands and for our own families and communities. In fact, you may be the only person who can effectively reach a particular soul. Will you walk through that door, even if you are uncomfortable with the task? Talk with God so you know intuitively when He calls you to “go forward.”
All Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
