Two books for your road trip, roadblock, or rough road ahead
On The Red Sea Rules & The Jordan River Rules, by Robert J. Morgan
I was living in a high rise apartment in a Brazilian city of 1.5 million people when I took the plunge into The Red Sea Rules; I was settled in suburbia surrounded by corn fields in the state of Indiana when I dove into The Jordan River Rules. A decade of time and a continent of space separated the two occasions, and, from the outside, the surroundings couldn’t have been more distinct from one another. But, on the inside, I was asking the same questions:
Did we take a wrong turn? Will we make it through?
Brazil was definitively foreign, presenting monumental hurdles I’d never faced before, but Indiana felt unexpectedly foreign, challenging lessons I thought I’d already passed. Although I knew God had called us, that was my only anchor in the uncertainty of following Him in each place.
Robert J. Morgan’s books are short and simply written, perhaps intentionally approachable for the one who feels overwhelmed by life’s twists and turns. Morgan follows the storyline and draws out principles from Israel’s most historic moment crossing the Red Sea and then from their lesser-known journey through the Jordan River.
Both books highlight ten “rules” about walking by faith, and #6 in each list was clarifying for me. One translates faith into small movements forward, and the other points to the expectation that each step forward carries with it:
Red Sea Rule #6: When unsure, just take the next logical step by faith.
Jordan River Rule # 6: Prepare today for tomorrow’s wonders.
Physical moves happen to play a major role in my particular walk of faith, but tests of faith are never really about the apparent obstacle; they’re about the faith beneath the surface. Whether your faith is being challenged by a catastrophic impasse (Red Sea), or you’re surprised by the challenge of a secondary barrier in a new phase of life (Jordan River), Morgan’s "rules" can bridge the gap by building your faith.
