Yesterday I began to talk about the walls of Jericho that Joshua and the Israelites faced as they sought to conquer the Promised Land. These walls seemed impregnable. Though we don’t face walls of stone today in our lives, we do face other walls that seem just as defeating. Financial walls. Emotional walls. Marital walls. Relational walls. Physical walls. Even spiritual walls. So what do we do when we are facing walls in our lives? In yesterday’s blog I highlighted two principles. First, we must remember the promised of God. And second, we must recognize our dependence on God. Today I will cover the final two principles I see from the story of Joshua and the battle of Jericho in Joshua 6.
Third, we need to remain steadfast in our obedience to God. Not only did God’s command to Israel to march around the city in silence seemed absurd, it had to get old quick. They were to do it once a day for 6 days and then 7 times on the 7th day. Jericho only covered about 8-10 acres of land. It would take no more than 30 minutes to walk around the city once. For 6 days, this was there routine:
Get up!
March around the city!
Go back to camp!
Wait until the next morning!
That had to get old real quick. The temptation had to be there to say, “I’ve had enough! I’m not marching around that stupid city anymore!” That’s what I find happens a lot. Christians are moving along in their lives and then they hit a wall. They asked God to remove the wall and He doesn’t. So they get mad at God and they quit obeying him. They quit reading their Bible. They quit praying. Folks, listen, the worst thing you can do when you hit a wall in your life is to stop obeying God. Look at the pattern. Often, God waits for us to show steadfast obedience and perseverance before He deals with the walls in our lives. Remember the promises of God! Recognize your dependence on Him! Remain steadfast in your obedience to Him.
And finally, raise your voice of worship to God. After the 7th time around the city on the 7th day, Israel was commanded to shout and the walls came tumbling down. This was a shout of victory. This was a shout of praise. What do you do when you face a wall in your life? No matter how tall the wall seems, you lift your voice in worship to a God who loves you and who always keeps His promises. That’s what Paul and Silas did in the book of Acts. After being arrested, tried, and flogged, they were put into stocks and thrown into prison. Stocks back then was a 6-8 ft log in which one ankle was tied to one end of the log. The legs were then spread further than they are supposed to go and the other ankle was tied to the other end of the log. And in that position at midnight they were singing songs of praise to God. I guarantee they were singing soprano but they were worshiping none the less. Are you facing a wall in your life? Stop whatever you are doing right now, look directly at that wall, and lift your voice in worship to God!
Third, we need to remain steadfast in our obedience to God. Not only did God’s command to Israel to march around the city in silence seemed absurd, it had to get old quick. They were to do it once a day for 6 days and then 7 times on the 7th day. Jericho only covered about 8-10 acres of land. It would take no more than 30 minutes to walk around the city once. For 6 days, this was there routine:
Get up!
March around the city!
Go back to camp!
Wait until the next morning!
That had to get old real quick. The temptation had to be there to say, “I’ve had enough! I’m not marching around that stupid city anymore!” That’s what I find happens a lot. Christians are moving along in their lives and then they hit a wall. They asked God to remove the wall and He doesn’t. So they get mad at God and they quit obeying him. They quit reading their Bible. They quit praying. Folks, listen, the worst thing you can do when you hit a wall in your life is to stop obeying God. Look at the pattern. Often, God waits for us to show steadfast obedience and perseverance before He deals with the walls in our lives. Remember the promises of God! Recognize your dependence on Him! Remain steadfast in your obedience to Him.
And finally, raise your voice of worship to God. After the 7th time around the city on the 7th day, Israel was commanded to shout and the walls came tumbling down. This was a shout of victory. This was a shout of praise. What do you do when you face a wall in your life? No matter how tall the wall seems, you lift your voice in worship to a God who loves you and who always keeps His promises. That’s what Paul and Silas did in the book of Acts. After being arrested, tried, and flogged, they were put into stocks and thrown into prison. Stocks back then was a 6-8 ft log in which one ankle was tied to one end of the log. The legs were then spread further than they are supposed to go and the other ankle was tied to the other end of the log. And in that position at midnight they were singing songs of praise to God. I guarantee they were singing soprano but they were worshiping none the less. Are you facing a wall in your life? Stop whatever you are doing right now, look directly at that wall, and lift your voice in worship to God!
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