Jericho Wall…

Jericho Wall…

One of my favorite stories in the Old Testament is Jericho. I absolutely love the lessons that can be applied in so many ways. Joshua, Chapter 6, tells the story of faithful men of God. Joshua is sent to Jericho, and then, the story tells of a "commander of the Lord" meeting Joshua outside of Jericho in Joshua 5:14. Joshua is given instructions to take the Priests with trumpets, "the ark of the Lord", and his men, and then march around the walls of the city once each day for six days. They were to say nothing, quietly march, and believe. On the 7th day, the Priests would blow the trumpets, they were to loudly shout in unison, and the Lord would do the rest. The wall would collapse and the army would give up to Joshua and his men.

You see, when God put walls in our path, he doesn’t expect us to always just peacefully sit by and say "God is in control. I don't need to do anything." He does understand that we are human. He understands that we are going to struggle with patience, waiting, and the path that we don't understand. He understands that we’re going to see obstacles that we don’t know how to surpass, but I love this story. We are to take up the armour of God, follow His instructions, and watch.

We may not have walls the size of Jericho. Our walls may simply be like those in our home or walls like we see at the White House or Palaces. Our walls may be wood, brick, clay, or steel. They may be made strong or quickly fall. But, our walls are significant in our lives, and God asks us to have the faith as He did with the Israelites at Jericho. He asks us to listen to the Holy Spirit inside, take up His trumpets (our armour) and walk in faith. He asks us to follow His direction, watch Him lead us down our paths, and shout triumphantly at the victories that lay ahead. In our lives, those walls will come down and reveal the outcome that He has predestined. Sometimes, unfortunately, the outcome of the walls tumbling are not the victories that we expect. Unfortunately, we are not God (as I remind myself), and I don't know His whole path for me. I just see each step as I walk along that path. The faith comes from understanding that in the end He does want what is good for me. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11

We have the assurance of God. We are His children. Yes, we will have those walls in front of us in the forms of bills, jobs, money, sickness, suffering of loved ones, grief, anger, and I could go on. We have those Jericho Walls in our lives that we don't think are surmountable. But, we have His love and His hand covering us as we walk around those walls and quietly wait, praying, following directions. We then will shout with a loud triumph when those walls, that are in our path, come tumbling down. Romans 8:32, "He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?"