June 07 2024

Friday June 07

Facing Our Jericho by Faith

Joshua 5:13-15

13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood 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?"

14 So He said, "No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, "What does my Lord say to His servant?"

15 Then the Commander of the LORD'S army said to Joshua, "Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy." And Joshua did so..

It seems no sooner than we determined to live for the Lord and be obedient to His will that the devil places a Jericho in our path. Here in Joshua 5, Joshua is out to look over Jericho, because Jericho is a very formidable city, a great citadel fortress that stood before the children of Israel and the land of promise. It was a great city, great in antiquity, one of the oldest known inhabited cities on the face of the earth. But not only was it great in antiquity; it was great in iniquity, it was a wicked, godless, sensual city. But it was also great in fortification, it had great walls that chariots could ride abreast encircling the city.

It was in the eyes of men, and by military strategy, an impregnable fortress. It like looked there was no way that Israel could take Jericho. In each of our lives the devil has placed a very special Jericho, and it looms before us as an impossible barrier that stands between us and the fulfillment that we feel that God wants for us in this life. There's a Jericho that stands between us and the dreams of our youth. There's a Jericho that stands before us, and between us and the will of God for our lives. There seems to be a Jericho that stands between us and the very best ambition of our hearts. And, there it stands; and there it shouts its defiance. And, that Jericho says to us, "You would have made it, had it not been for me. But I'm here, and all of my strength, to keep you from entering into that land of promise."

What is your Jericho? For some of us, it may be an unhealthy body. For others, it may be an unhappy marriage. For others, it may be an unholy life. For some, it may be old age; for some, a lack of education; for some, past defeats; for some, fear. There just seems to be something in our lives, insurmountable, something that we cannot overcome, some fortress that seems to keep us from conquering the land that our God has given us.

And, when you face your Jericho, you can do one of two things: You can turn around, and go back, and die in the wilderness of unbelief; or else, you can do as Joshua did, and you can face that fortress by faith, and conquer it. In Hebrews 11:30, we read these words: "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days".

What was the victory of Jericho? It was a victory of faith. It is faith, nothing more, nothing less, that will achieve the victory in our lives. Here is the lesson in all of the Book of Joshua. Do you want to learn the lesson today? Do you want me to give you Joshua in a sentence? Victory is not achieved by fighting; it is received by faith. That's the lesson we must learn. Victory is not achieved by fighting. Victory is received by faith. When God has a gigantic task that He wants performed, He gives faith the contract. Faith is very wonderful, because it is faith, that links our nothingness to God's Almightiness. And that makes all the difference.

Joshua first had a face-to-face confrontation with the Lord Jesus Christ. He saw the Man, the Conqueror, with the drawn sword Who's not come to take sides; the One who's come to take over. If you want victory in your life, stop trying to get God on your side. Get on God's side! God hasn't come to take sides; He's come to take over. And, you will never know faith, you will never know victory, and your Jericho will never fall, until you do as Joshua did. You lay your sword at His feet, and bow yourself prostrate at His feet, and worship Him. And, when you do that, Jericho is no longer your problem. It becomes God's problem. And, that makes the difference, when you can turn that Jericho over to the One who has come to take over.

Joshua had been problem-conscious; and now, no longer is he problem-conscious—he is God conscious. He lies in the dust before the Lord. And, he's not thinking, now, of why it can't be done. He knows that it must be done. It will be done. When Joshua met the Lord, he discovered that the battle was the Lord's and He had already overcome the enemy. All Joshua had to do was listen to God's Word and obey orders, and God would do the rest. God had already given Jericho to Israel (Josh. 6:2); all they had to do was step out by faith and claim the victory by obeying the Lord.

May the Lord give us grace to by faith face our Jericho today!

God bless!