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The Jordan River at flood stage is not a gentle stream. It is a raging torrent. In Joshua 3, the waters were at their highest, most dangerous point. God told the priests carrying the ark of the covenant to walk directly into a flooding river with no promise of safety until their feet touched the water. The instruction was simple and terrifying: step in first, then I will move. Most of us would have waited on the bank for the water to calm down, for some sign that it was safe. But God does not work that way. He waits for your foot to hit the water before He parts the river.

Yesterday we talked about kinetic faith, the principle that static friction is higher than kinetic friction. The hardest part of obedience is the first thirty seconds. Joshua 3:15-16 says it plainly: “Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing.” The water did not part when they prayed. It did not part when they aligned with God’s command. It parted when their feet got wet. God moved the river the moment they moved their feet. Faith is active movement into the thing you cannot control.

Think about that moment. You are standing at the edge of a flooding river. Every rational instinct is screaming at you to wait for the water to calm. But the command is clear: step in. And so they do. Their feet touch the water. The impossible happens. The water stops flowing. The entire nation crosses safely. The miracle was contingent on obedience in motion, not belief in stillness.

This is ACT, the fourth step of the Watchman’s Protocol. You have Arrested the thought. You have Audited the impulse. You have Aligned with Truth. Now comes the hardest part: doing it when you do not feel ready. God is asking you to step into the flooding river, and you want Him to part the water first. But faith is kinetic. It requires movement into the thing you cannot control. If you wait for dry ground, you will die on the bank. The miracle happens in motion, not in waiting.

What is your flooding river? The apology you need to make? The hard conversation you have been avoiding? The decision you have been putting off? You have run the Protocol. You know what you should do. But you are standing on the bank, waiting for the water to part before you step in. And God is waiting for you to step in before He parts the water. This is where most leaders lose the battle. They mistake waiting for wisdom when they are actually waiting for comfort. God is not asking you to feel confident. He is asking you to move your feet.

If you wait for dry ground, you miss the miracle. The priests did not get to see the water part and then decide whether to step in. They had to step in while it was still flooding. That is the test. Will you move when you cannot see the outcome? Will you obey when you do not feel ready? God does not move the river for people standing safely on the bank. He moves it for people with wet feet, for the ones already in motion. The miracle is not a reward for perfect belief; it is a response to imperfect obedience.

This is ACT in action. You have done the internal work. Now you move your feet. The movement will feel like stepping into a flooding river with no guarantee of safety. But this is the pattern. God gives the impulse, you provide the motion. He waits for your foot to hit the water. And when you step in, the impossible happens. The water parts. The relationship is healed. The decision becomes clear. The peace you were waiting for shows up after you obeyed. Feelings follow obedience.

Tomorrow we will talk about what happens after you step into the river, about why the closeness you are waiting for is the reward for moving, not the fuel for it. But today, the question is simple: What is your flooding river? Stop waiting. Step into the water. God parts the river when your feet get wet. Faith is not a feeling you wait for. It is a movement you initiate. The priests stepped in while the river was flooding, and the water stopped when their feet touched the edge. Your turn. Step in.