So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. –Joshua 6:20
Good Morning Friend!
Are you ready for the victory that God promised?
There are many promises that God has made to the believer. There are promises of health, healing, prosperity, wholeness, happiness, comfort, love, peace, joy, and the list goes on. The promises of God are plenty and the possibilities to the believer endless! As a matter of fact the bible declares that the promises of the Lord are "Yea and Amen" (2 Corinthians 1:20). The Message Bible Translation reads verses 20-22 of 2nd Corinthians like this: "Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God's Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident. God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us. By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete." Yes, God has promised us great things as well He has already gotten us the victory in any circumstances we have or will face in life. Many will ask (and do ask) "well, If God has given me all these promises, why haven't I seen them yet then." The answer is simple and is confirmed all throughout scripture. Yes, God has many promises and victories for the believer but in order for us to access this fullness in God, it requires OBEDIENCE on our part.
You see, sometimes we can get so caught up in the promises of God that we forget to uphold our end of the bargain. I preached before that we serve an "if/then God." Meaning that whatever promises that God gives to the believer, requires the believer to do something in order to access the blessing. He says in his word if we believe on Him then we will have eternal life (John 3:15). If we bring all the tithe into the store house then God will open the windows of heaven and pour us out a blessing that we wont have room enough to receive (Malachi 3:10). If we live a life that is pleasing unto God, then we shall inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). So we see that accessing the blessings of the Lord takes obedience through faith on our part, that what God is saying will work! When we move and follow God's voice and directions we will ultimately have the success that God intended. But when we delay in our obedience or even ignore the instructions of the Lord concerning us, we show God that we really don't believe Him.
Joshua had to make many of the same spiritual and natural decisions back then that we have to make today. In the text Joshua gained the victory because he listened to the voice and the word that God gave to him, brought the instructions of God back to the people and followed through with what the Lord had instructed him to do. Ultimately, because Joshua followed God's instructions precisely (from how many preachers should be there, how many trumpets should be blown and how many days/times the people should walk around the wall down to the positioning of everyone in the line up and the precise time when the people should raise their voice in a shout) the wall of Jericho came down and Joshua and the people of Israel possessed the victory over Jericho as God had promised. Now, I'm sure Joshua had the whisperers saying that him and the people looked ridiculous simply walking around the wall one time, everyday for six days, then the seventh day walking around the walls seven times. I'm sure the army generals of that time didn't see or understand Joshua's strategy and probably criticized him. I'm also sure that some of the people walking with Joshua started out strong but by day 6 grew a little weary of the process and not "seeing" any victory ahead. Regardless to all this, Joshua held on to the promise of the Lord and continued to walk out the plan that God gave him. Friend, there will be some times that no one (including you) will understand the vision that God placed in your belly, but regardless of weather or not you understand and if other accept what God has spoken to you, whatever God gave for you to do, YOU'VE GOT TO WALK IT OUT! See God has ways of taking us through processes that will build us while we are in the midst of uncertainty. Joshua may not have understood why God would have him and the people walk around the Wall for seven days, with seven priest leading, with seven trumpets made out of ram's horns (7 being the number of completion or perfection…look at God!) but with every step they took in the direction that God set out for them they came closer to their victory and perfecting that in them that would in the end carry them to victory. When God speaks we ought to hold on to every word and promise that He gives us and WALK IT OUT until everything that is standing between us and our promises comes tumbling down and everything concerning us is complete and whole!
If God chooses to use us, we must remember that it's an honor to be used by the Father. Furthermore, as I always say, whatever God allows us to face in life is to ultimately prepare us for where He's gonna take us in life. In Joshua and Israel's case, Jericho wasn't really a large city, but it was an important, formidable fortress city. If Israel could defeat Jericho, they could defeat anything else that would face them in Canaan. Again we see the wisdom of God as opposed to human wisdom, in that Israel faces their most difficult opponent first. You need to know that your worst days are truly behind you and what you are facing is not really that big of a thing to conquer…nevertheless this victory is pivotal in the subsequent victories that you are to gain! Just like God did with Joshua, he many times allows us to face our hardest trials at the beginning of our journeys because He knows if we can get through this one, that He can trust us to go the rest of the way and we will have more confidence in Him [God], ourselves, our callings and missions in life. Remember, the greatest battles won always started with one step!
Are you ready to step out of what's been and WALK into what God has promised? All it takes is your initial "yes" to God and obeying is voice and instructions from that point on. No matter how hard it may seem, how strange it may look or how crazy it may sound to others, you continue to WALK OUT the plan that the Lord has set forth for your life. Because when it's all said and done if you can WALK IT OUT then you will definitely be able to WALK ON THROUGH to your destiny…your victory….your freedom…your promise! Don't get tired now, cause you've got to WALK IT OUT!
Much Love,
Clyde L. Webster
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