Cross Over
Pastor Alex Hall | December 21, 2025
Crossing Over: Embracing God's Covenant and Promises
There comes a moment in every believer's life when they stand at the edge of something new—a crossover season. It's that uncomfortable, awkward space between the familiar past and the promised future. You can't quite see what's ahead, but you know in your spirit that God is leading you somewhere different.
The Israelites knew this feeling well. After generations of slavery in Egypt, they found themselves wandering in the wilderness, headed toward a land they'd never seen. All they had was a promise from God and the sound of His voice echoing in their hearts. Deuteronomy 4:12 reminds us that they "heard the sound of the words, but saw no form. You only heard a voice."
Sometimes faith means trusting what you've heard even when you can't see it yet.
The Power of Covenant
At the heart of God's relationship with His people is covenant—a sacred bond that goes far deeper than casual commitment. Covenant isn't something to take lightly. When God declares His covenant, He's establishing something permanent, something binding, something holy.
This principle extends to every area of our lives. In marriage, covenant means two souls joining together in a bond that reflects Christ's relationship with the church. In our connection to the body of Christ, covenant means we're not just spiritual consumers hopping from place to place looking for the next best experience. We're committed members of a family, planted and rooted in community.
Too often, we approach church like we approach everything else in our consumer-driven culture—always looking for an upgrade, always ready to move on when something shinier catches our eye. But covenant calls us to something deeper: honor, loyalty, and steadfastness even when things get difficult.
The same mindset that causes someone to church-hop will eventually cause their eyes to wander in marriage. If we can't commit to the body of Christ, how will we stay committed when our spouse has a bad day, a bad month, or a bad year? Covenant teaches us to steward what God has given us rather than constantly seeking something better.
Stewardship Over Consumption
There's a profound difference between being a sower and being an eater. Isaiah 55:10 illustrates this beautifully, explaining how rain waters the earth to "give seed to the sower and bread to the eater."
Bread satisfies for a day. Seed produces a harvest for a lifetime.
When God gives us something, we have a choice: consume it immediately or plant it for future multiplication. Too many of us approach God with outstretched hands, asking Him to fill our immediate needs without recognizing that He wants to give us seed that will produce abundance not just for us, but for everyone in our sphere of influence.
God looks at what He's already given us and asks, "Are you taking care of it? Are you stewarding it well?" Before He can trust us with more, we need to prove faithful with what's already in our hands.
Crossing Over Into Promise
When Joshua prepared to lead Israel into the Promised Land, God gave him specific instructions. The land was inhabited by enemies. The Jordan River was at flood stage. Nothing about the situation looked promising from a natural perspective.
But God told Joshua: "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you" (Joshua 1:3). Notice the tension—God said He had already given them land they hadn't yet possessed. They had to walk by faith, trusting what they'd heard even though they couldn't yet see it.
God's instructions to Joshua reveal principles for anyone in a crossover season:
Keep God's Word in your mouth. Don't just read it—speak it, declare it, meditate on it day and night. Even when circumstances contradict God's promises, keep His word on your lips.
Be strong and courageous. Fear will try to convince you to turn back, to return to the familiar slavery rather than face the unknown promise. Reject that fear. God goes before you.
Don't turn to the right or the left. The world offers countless compromises, shortcuts that promise easier paths. But God's way—straight and narrow as it may be—leads to true prosperity.
Closing the Circle
Here's something remarkable: When Moses sent spies into the Promised Land, he sent twelve. Ten came back with negative reports that discouraged an entire generation from entering their inheritance. But when Joshua sent spies, he only sent two.
Sometimes we have too many voices speaking into our lives. Too many opinions. Too many perspectives. In a crossover season, it's time to close the circle—to identify the two or three wise, godly voices who can speak truth and encouragement when you need it most.
This doesn't mean isolating yourself. It means being intentional about who has influence in your life during critical seasons of transition.
Marking Your Miracles
When Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground—a genuine miracle during flood season—God told them to take twelve stones from the riverbed and create a memorial. Why? So they would never forget what He had done. So their children would ask, "What do these stones mean?" and they could share the testimony of God's faithfulness.
We need to mark our miracles. Write them down. Tell your children. Create reminders of the moments when God showed up in ways that defied natural explanation. These memorials become anchors for your faith when the next impossible situation arises.
When you look back and remember that God stopped the river once before, you can trust He'll make a way again.
As For Me and My House
Joshua's famous declaration still echoes across generations: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).
Everyone else might turn back. Everyone else might choose the easier path. Everyone else might compromise. But not you. Not your household.
This is the heart of covenant faithfulness—a determination to follow God regardless of what everyone else does. It's a decision made before the pressure comes, before the testing arrives, before the crossover gets uncomfortable.
In this season, God is calling His people higher. He's inviting us into covenant relationship, into faithful stewardship, into the promises He's spoken over our lives. The question is: Will we trust what we've heard even when we can't yet see it?
The crossover may be uncomfortable. The wilderness may feel long. But God's word never returns void. What He has promised, He will fulfill. Not a single good thing He has spoken will fail to come to pass.
So choose this day whom you will serve. And then, like Joshua, lead your household forward into everything God has prepared for those who love Him.