“And the people of Israel did just as Joshua commanded and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan… And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day.” (Joshua 4:8-10)

Out of the midst, in the midst. Visible, invisible.

There was one memorial that future generations would see by the side of the Jordan as a visible testament to God’s power and grace. And there was another memorial that future generations would “see” in the Jordan by faith.

For every visible memorial, witness, or demonstration of God’s grace in our lives, there is an invisible one. God is at work all around you—always at work for you, in you, and through you. In fact, whatever you consider to be the biggest sign you’ve ever seen of God’s grace in your life, it is even then the tiniest fraction of a great work he is bringing to completion (Philippians 1:6).

Yes, there will come a day when the full picture of God’s grace will be revealed. When all you imagined good about it will be revealed to be the smallest part of the smallest part of that picture. When all you never understood about it will be revealed to be intricate to the whole. When all you saw disappointing about it will be revealed to be the edge of the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen.  

Who can imagine or comprehend or dream all that God has in store for those whom he loves, for those who love him! Yet, every flow has a source. 

Behind every demonstration of God’s grace in your life stands the eternal fountain of the cross of Christ. The cross stands above it all—above all things and beyond all things, before all things and after all things. Apart from the cross, nothing God desires to give us can be given; nothing he wants to complete in us us can be completed; nothing he seeks to accomplish for us can be accomplished. 

Jesus came and by his life, death, and resurrection parted the waters of sin, death, and judgment, in order to save us and bring us across to new life now and a future new life in the promised new heaven and earth. 

We praise God for all we’ve seen him do and will see him do. And we praise him for all we’ve never seen and will never see that he’s done. We praise him, because he “saved us…not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus” (2 Tim 1:8-10).