And the Walls Came Tumbling Down!

Several years ago, my husband and I really needed to sell some highway frontage property that we owned. He was very ill and we needed the sale in order to help make ends meet at that challenging time in our lives. My husband’s sister grabbed my hand and said “Come on. We’re going to do the “Jericho March” around the property. We patterned our walk from Joshua’s valiant walk around Jericho 3,000 years ago. As we walked, we were asking God for divine intervention and for those ominous financial walls to come down. Only a few days later, a pastor in the city called and asked to come by to see us. Long story made short, he wanted to purchase the property for his church – putting a pavilion and other facilities there for the church. The rest of the story is history because we sold the property to them and we all rejoiced that the property was going to be used for God’s purposes. Win. Win.

When my Sweetheart was in the hospital for yet another “emergency” surgery, my prayer pals — my sis-in-law and another friend said “Let’s walk around the hospital 7 times and pray and praise for God’s divine intervention. We went by my Sweetheart’s hospital room and gave him the “V” is for victory hand sign. As we started out on that walk, it was lightning. We said, “God is giving us a “light” show! It was sultry hot at first and then it turned to a sweet, cool breeze. Again, we sensed God was sending us the cool air of His Spirit. Another loop around, and a flock of geese, in V-formation, flew over our heads – another sign of VICTORY ahead for us. That’s the way God rolled for us in some of our most faith-challenging times. Sounds a little fanatical, doesn’t it? But I assure you when God sees our willingness to be fanatical for Him and truly believe that “Nothing is impossible with Him”, He’ll answer our prayers – maybe with a “Yes; No; or “Hang on – not right now, but later!” but He still answers. My Sweetheart survived another critical surgery and we had him with us a while longer.

Does that sound radical to you? That is just the way we rolled and it’s the way I still roll. I have audacious faith in my “unlimited” God and in His love for me. So, when we were in Jericho at the site of the original walls coming down last week, I was quiet on the outside, but inside – I was doing cartwheels. Before, my faith was based on the story in God’s Word. He said it and we believed it, but now I had the actual reference for Joshua’s audacious obedience to God’s commands. Along with the other pilgrims on our journey, we were standing on the site of Jericho’s walls coming down. Here’s what I found out in my Bible studies (yes, this pilgrimage is causing me to reference back to how God brought about so many miracles and if scripture says “He’s the same, yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), then why wouldn’t I stand solid on what He did “yesterday”?).

Here’s the deal….if Joshua had met with his military advisors, no one would have come up with this seemingly “wacko” plan of walking around the walls 7 days in a row and on the 7th day to walk 7 times around and then blow the trumpets and shout and the walls would come down. Most certainly THAT plan was NOT one that man would design. It was a definite FAITH plan and we read in Hebrews 11:30, “by faith, the walls of Jericho fell down …” In spite of the taunts that were perhaps hurled down at them from the walls as they marched silently around Jericho, they were willing to look foolish and simply rest in the Lord. He was their source of strength.

Every day we have options –- to expect the worst or to truly place our trust in our God who loves us so passionately and desires to bring us through every test, trial and challenge in this life. Oh, we may have some bumps and bruises along the way, but we’ll weather the storms, the conflicts and the tests as we place our trust in God’s game plan for our lives! When we do that — those walls will come tumbling down!