Joshua 6

Jamie Anderson comments on the need for obedience even when we don't understand

Jamie Anderson

The story of Jericho in Joshua 6 is pretty amazing when you consider the circumstances:

Verse 1 - A city with high, thick walls, totally surrounded - no-one comes in or out because of the Israelites.

Verse 2 - God gives a promise to Joshua

Verse 3-5 - Instruction is given to Joshua to have the Israelites march around the city once a day, in total silence for six days and then on the seventh day; six times in silence but on the last - make all the noise they can.

The Bible says the walls fell 'flat' (without crushing the Israelites - interesting) and yet the people of Jericho were utterly destroyed... except Rahab, the prostitute and her family.

This story seems rather simple at first, but is actually quite profound. It is reflective of a promise given before it's able to be seen and an action that probably made no sense in the natural. It's a reminder of the importance of obedience and the mercy of God shown to an unlikely recipient and her family because of her heart.

Verse 2 says, "And the Lord said to Joshua, see, I have given Jericho, its king and mighty men of valour, into your hands."

Jericho hadn't fallen yet. There is so much to learn from this.

Have you been given a promise from the Lord, yet it seems a million miles away?

Have you ever encountered something so huge you can't see past it and yet stayed in total obedience, without any understanding of the outcome? How did that work out - or did you quit at day two, three or even day six?

Maybe you're facing something right now and what you need to do is just keep going!

Sometimes our problems get in the way of seeing and hearing clearly. When we have the wrong perspective we lose sight of what's really before us - or who has gone before us. He has cleared a path of grace.

Many of us have the faith to start, but not the fortitude to finish.

What happens when our progress isn't always as obvious as we'd like? Imagine Israelites at the end of day one, when nothing happened or then day two - did they get discouraged? Can you even picture what days five and six looked like - they probably thought Joshua had lost it.

The reality is, so many times we are closer than we think, but we forget that the process is often open ended. Only Joshua knew what God's promise was - the people just did what they were told.

Sometimes you just need to keep doing, keep going, keep believing because that 'one more' - might just be your 'day 7' and soon those walls are coming down.

You are closer than you think to seeing the promises of God become part of your life. You are closer to seeing the dreams in your heart become the reality in your life.

Here's the key: be less focused on the outcome and more on staying obedient. The outcome is God's responsibility, being obedient is yours.