How High is Your Wall?

Your problems are like the walls of Jericho—a steep embankment followed by a wall, then another steep embankment and another taller wall—altogether, a height of over 40 feet!  Joshua contemplated how he was supposed to overcome this.  But, we have to be careful— whatever dominates our thoughts, dominates us.  We read in Joshua 5:13-15 (NIV) “Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" 14  "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come."

Joshua looks up…not to the walls of Jericho—even though they are staring him in the face, but to the Commander of the Lord’s army.  What is the Jericho that stares you in the face…gets your attention…you can’t seem to help thinking about… you can’t overcome?  This man with a drawn sword captured his attention!  We now understand that if Joshua hadn’t turned his eyes away from Jericho, Jericho would not have fallen.  His eyes had to be turned to the Lord!

When the man with the drawn sword spoke, it was as if the Lord said, “Joshua, you wanted to know if I was on your side or their side. And you were hoping I’d be on your side because you know you need help. You’re in over your head and you know it.

“You’ve got Jericho facing you, and you were hoping I would come along and help you with it. Then you could tell me what to do because you’re the commander in chief of Israel’s army and I would help you fix it, make it go away. And we would all live happily ever after."

But no — that’s not what I’ve come to do.  I haven’t come to serve your purposes.  I’ve come to take over. I’ve come to fulfill MY will through you!  Forget about whose side I’m on. The real question is whose side are you on?  I haven’t come to put myself at your disposal, so that you can use me to accomplish your agenda. I’m here to accomplish MY agenda. I want you at my disposal. You’re not in charge here, Joshua. You’ve now discovered that as commander in chief of the Israeli army, you don’t have what it takes to overcome Jericho.  I’ve come to tell you how it is going to be done.  Then in Joshua 5:14b it says, “Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?" With that response, God led Joshua in victory.  If you will daily humble yourself before God, asking Him what His message is for you, you will lead an overcoming life!   

This coming Sunday, October 9th, I will continue in this story of how to overcome the largest obstacles in your life.  

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