The Walls Came Tumbling Down

It always amazes me that I can hear a story dozens of times and still not really get it...

I grew up singing the “Joshua fought the battle of Jericho...” song. I knew the story. God’s people did what God said- and God brought victory.

I guess my seven-year-old self enjoyed the story or the song because I remembered it all these years, but I hadn’t yet learned.

Joshua was commanded by God to lead His people. The land of Jericho was to be their land. Unfortunately, the people of Jericho weren’t too thrilled about giving it away. They’d have to fight. To make the odds stack higher against Joshua, the city was surrounded by a huge wall.

Then, at the risk of being completely humiliated, Joshua (who had just spoken to a man of God) had to tell the people that they would gain victory by marching around the wall. Once a day, for six days. And seven times, on day seven.

I’m sure at least one person said, “Really Joshua?! I’ve got this great new sword that I really wanna use.. couldn’t we fight this battle with some weapons?”

I’m sure that more than one person agreed with him. Yet, they did exactly as God commanded them. They displayed crazy, victory-making-faith by simply doing what God said. Yes, they looked odd. Yes, they were laughed at. And Yes, God showed up.

In the radical and illogical situation, God made a way. Just as He did at the Red Sea, He worked and brought victory against all odds. And because of His past miracles, the people of Jericho feared the Israelites (Joshua 6:1). It’s funny how I never even knew that part.

So what have I learned/relearned from the story of the battle of Jericho?

Well, for some reason, I see so clearly that the battle of Jericho was a miracle. 

There is no way that marching around a wall should make it fall, but it did. 

There is no way that the Israelites should have won that battle, but they did. 

God calls us to have crazy-faith. He wants us to trust Him and His mighty power. He wants to give us a Promised Land, even if common sense says No way!

He wants to fight the battle and bring victory. If we could just obey Him..

Ah, obedience. There is the lesson learned. Obedience is the strongest weapon we have. It is stronger than the sword. It is stronger than your own plan. Why? Because obedience is self-sacrificial. It’s  Not-my-way-Lord in action.

When we deny ourselves and just obey God, we open the door for God to do whatever He chooses. When we rely on our own power, our own weapons, we fail miserably. You see, we need God. 

On my own, I am not strong/perfect/good enough to do anything worthwhile. But when I just obey, I allow God’s power to take control and go exceedingly above my own little expectations.

Obey God. And watch the walls fall down.

Lost and Found in His Word

Reading my Bible has always been kinda hard for me. I read the whole New Testament when I was younger, but since then... I’d say days would go by and I wouldn’t even think about it. I’ve always been a reader, though- so I had no idea why reading the Bible was so hard. I read good, uplifting books, yet the Bible would just sit there.

Part of what contributed to my lack of interest in the Bible was that I thought I knew it all already. (Pride, that’s a tough one.) I thought, how could I learn anything else? Growing up in the church, sometimes makes you think you’ve seen God in as many ways as possible already. Sometimes you’re almost less amazed at the awesomeness of God because you’ve seen it for so long.

The time came for me to pray for some people. What I felt God wanted me to pray into their lives was His promises. I thought I knew them, but when I opened my mouth to claim the promises, I had nothing. Sure, I knew the phrases, (“I’ll never leave you or forsake you”, “You’ll call and I’ll answer”, “I’ll bind up the broken hearted” etc) but I couldn’t tell you the reference. This, for some reason, bothered me. Knowing the lingo wasn’t good enough, I wanted to SEE it.

So, it was when I went promise-hunting in Psalms, that the desire to read the Word of God was activated inside of me. I began to realize that I was headed towards a dangerous place. I had to decide that I didn’t want to limit God to doing what He’s always done. I wanted to be amazed constantly by my amazing God. 

So I went searching. I found what I was looking for. I found promises, guarantees of God’s goodness. I found the hope, the amazing Hope that is there for all who believe.

And more than that, as I read more of God’s Word, I learned more. I saw verses as I never have before. God showed me that no matter how long I’ve been saved, He always has some new and crazy thing to show me. Sometimes to see, you have to go looking.

No, I don’t have a reading plan. No, I’ve still never read Leviticus, Numbers, or Deuteronomy (yet!). I jump from Psalms to Hebrews to Isaiah to Romans - and am always surprised at the “new” verse I discover. Always a promise and always a wake up call.

I’m in Romans today. Chapter 5, verses 6-8. 

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

The Message says in verse 8, “But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.”

And though I’ve read it before, today I see. 

I see the pure beauty of God’s love. 

I see Christ’s world-shaking sacrifice. 

I see how incredible it is, that Jesus would die for people who were of no use to Him. Can I honestly say that I would give up my life for a murderer, liar, thief, and gossiper?  Christ did. For me and for you. While we were still in sin, He died for us. He died for us! Not because we were holy, but because He is.

So there you have it. God is again stretching me and remaking me. He is opening my eyes to my imperfections, but showing me that it is then that His mighty power will be displayed. Because an imperfect person needs saving- I need saving. We all need saving.