How Big is Your Jericho?

Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.  And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.  Andseven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns:and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and thepriests shall blow with the trumpets.  Andit shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram'shorn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shallshout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat,and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him. - Joshua 6:1-5


Not the battle plan I would have come up with.  In fact, I don't even think Joshua himself would have come up with such a plan.  I mean, seriously, think about it from a leader/soldier's viewpoint. "We have swords and spears.  We have shields.  We have bows and arrows.  We have men who are willing and able to fight.  But instead, let's just march around the city for seven days, blow some trumpets and shout.  Yeah, that should do it."  To the human mind, it just makes no sense.  It's inconceivable and even seems reckless. But when God gives orders, it really is best to obey whether those orders make sense or not.  As we know from the battle of Jericho, God's plan worked out just as He said it would.

That being said, may I ask you a question?  How big is your Jericho?  Are there walls surrounding your life, preventing you from reaching your promised land?  Perhaps they are walls of worry or fear?  Or perhaps your walls take the form of disappointment or regret?  Barriers of difficult circumstances seem to tower over you and to span so far in distance that it seems nearly impossible to walk around them. No way over.  No way around.  The task seems hopeless, as I'm sure it did to the children of Israel when Joshua told them of God's plan.  Nevertheless, they obeyed, and the battle was won.


Think about the old song, Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho.  It says that Joshua fought the battle, but the walls came tumbling down.  Joshua didn't bring the walls down; God did.  Joshua had no control over those walls, but God did.  Likewise, we often have no control over the walls in our lives, but God does.  Let's stop trying to tear the walls down on our own and follow God's plan.  Turn our burdens over to Him.  Praise Him for the prayers He has answered and for those He has yet to answer.  Do what He's asked us to do.  And then watch as the walls crumble to dust before our very eyes.  He did it for Joshua, and He can do it for us.  But like Joshua, we must fight the battle God's way!