It was early morning and Joshua had had little sleep. There was silence in the tents around him but he knew that it would not be for long. With the rising sun would come the energy-sapping whining of a people who could only see the glass half empty.
“Why are we here?” They whined. “Our food has run-out, our children’s lives are in jeopardy and you don’t seem to have one solid idea as to how to fix this.” In despondence, Joshua trudged away from the camp wishing to separate himself from the accusations swirling in his head. His feet took him toward the walls of Jericho and there he stood feeling small, inadequate, and out of ideas. A lonely place for a leader. Jericho was the answer to their problems of food and security. . . But how? How were they going to get in?
Joshua gazed at Jericho all sealed up and impenetrable. He felt a growing tightness in the pit of his stomach, he could feel the panic setting in as sweat pooled in his armpits and rolled down his back. He rubbed the knot at the nape of his neck and slowly released a heavy sigh.
“Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” The captain of the LORD’S host said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” Joshua 5:13-15.
It was at this dark moment of greatest challenge that Joshua met up with the messenger from God. “God is still with me!” Joshua was re-energized. He stood alert, waiting and listening for the directions of his God. The directions came. “Am I hearing correctly? Am I misunderstanding God’s message?” The directions ran contrary to Joshua’s military mind but he would follow them. Off came his shoes, and he stood bare-footed and vulnerable before God. The trumpet, usually the instrument of celebration, was going to be a weapon of war and added to that they were going to do seven days of marching. No fighting just marching and trusting.
“What a spectacle we will be” he thought, “Our enemies will think us strange and laugh at us. But we will do it . . . for God.” Joshua reminded himself of how God had led him in the past and those memories strengthened him. God did not always take the conventional or logical route in solving problems. Joshua’s faith took hold of God’s promise, let go of his own strategizing and accepted God’s plan. Blowing the trumpets as they went they marched for six days, no doubt to the amusement of the on-lookers. Then on the final day of march Joshua gave the command!
“And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city!” Joshua 6: 16.
Their shouts were in celebration of victory- even as they stood, unarmed, and still outside the high walls of Jericho. Their shouts were of faith and praise, praise that inhabited the time-defying world of God. Their shouts were immediately followed by loud, deafening, thunderous rumbles as the thick impregnable walls of Jericho fell apart like a match-stick house under a giant’s feet. The unseen was now reality! Their faith was made real!
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrew 11:1
The Jericho victory that we talk and sing about today is grounded in the fact that even in the tightest, darkest, hopeless of places, God is there and all is well. Our singing about Joshua and his victories must become for us one of the most poignant and firm reminders of the faithfulness of our God.
The place of challenge and crisis is always holy ground – it is a place of opportunity– opportunity for us to take the step of faith into God’s timeless realm where the past, the present, and the future are one. A place where our needs and their satisfaction by God are all one. In this holy realm, God in defiance of time, continuously displays His love and advocacy for us.
In recent times, we seem to be constantly in a place of challenge or crisis: A seemingly uncontrollable pandemic is taking the lives of family and friends, jobs are lost, large bills confront, natural disasters are rampant, and abuse and disenfranchisement seem the order of the day. These are all challenges that hit us in the pit of our stomachs and make us question if God cares about us, or worse yet, whether there is a God at all. Like Joshua we may feel alone, helpless, and hopeless.
Despite all of this, let’s stop and think. How did Joshua deal with his problem? Can we use his experience as a guide? Here’s how he did it: Joshua looked squarely at his problem. He stood still and listened for God’s leading. He believed, based on past experience, that God could solve his problem. He stepped out in faith. He gave praise and thanksgiving even before receiving the victory.
Child of God, stand in reverence and with dignity in your place of challenge and crisis, whatever and wherever it may be. Stand, knowing that all is well because you are on holy ground! The victory is sure . . . but first there is marching to be done!
I know that Bible stories often seems so long-ago and far-away, but secular history tells us that these countries did and do exist and history chronicles many of these events and individuals. Secular historians may not attributed these miracles to Jehovah God, but rather to fortune and flukes of nature. Many people today say the same thing when there is sudden “good fortune”. The Bible tells us differently, and my personal experiences and the experiences of friends convince me otherwise.
Dear readers, have you had any of these “good fortune” experiences that you would like to share? Or, do you think that faith like Joshua’s is an out-dated idea? Let us hear from you. I look forward to your sharing and I will also share some of my experiences in future blogs.
Today’s Goal: To look squarely at the problem no matter what it is (that takes courage doesn’t it?), present it to God and listen, then in faith step forward giving praise and thanksgiving all the way.
A Wilderness Guidebook . . . 