In the book of Joshua chapter 6, God brought his people to the brink of their promised blessing, but they had one more seemingly impossible challenge to overcome. The promised blessing was surrounded by walls. Today, believers are promised God’s blessings recorded in his Word, such as, Spiritual deliverance, healing for the body, strongholds broken in your household, or a greater manifestation of God’s presence in your life. However, the blessings of God are surrounded by “walls,” i.e., obstacles, or trials, of which our natural ability, intellect, or financial resources are ineffective to overcome. God’s “weapons” are spiritual and not carnal. They are “mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;” – (2 Corinthians 10:4). Below are five spiritual weapons needed to knock down the walls surrounding your blessing, enabling you to Walk into your Victory!
- Faith – God promised Joshua that the walls will fall down flat – (Joshua 6:5). Faith without works is dead – (James 2:20). God will never ask us to do anything that we are not capable of doing. In like manner, we must not put unreasonable expectations on God; expecting him to do everything and we do nothing. God wants us to do more than just believe. He wants us to do the “works” as well. God requires us to do the possible, and then he will step in and do the impossible. What are the “works”? What is the “possible”? – A believer walking in obedience to God’s Word.
- Follow – The Ark of the Covenant went before the people – (Joshua 6:9). Wherever The Ark of the Covenant went, the people followed it. The Ark was a wooden chest covered with gold. It speaks of our Lord Jesus Christ in His humanity (wood) and deity (gold). Within the Ark were three items: The tables of the Law (The Word), Aaron’s rod that budded (Life), and a pot of manna (food) – (Hebrews 9:4). Everything that we need, both naturally and spiritually, we can find it in Jesus Christ. The Word of God needs to be in its proper place, in front of us, while we humbly and faithfully follow behind; not direct our own path. In Luke 9:23, Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” God does not reveal His will or share his glory with the conditional, or careless follower, but to those who are fully committed to his Word, and willing to fully surrender to his will.
- Effort – The people were instructed to compass the city one time for six days and seven times on the seventh day, which equals 13 times – (Joshua 6:3-4). Each day required exerting physical effort and endurance to accomplish the will of God. Serving God is not just a casual visit, or a friendly acknowledgment; it is an everyday, lifetime commitment. You must make more of an effort to invest time into your relationship with God in prayer, bible reading, and church attendance. God “is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” – (Hebrews 11:6). No effort = no reward.
- Patience – God promised that victory would come in seven days – (Joshua 6:4). God could have knocked down the walls on the 1st day, but this victory march was for his people. Are you willing to wait for God to fulfill the promises of his will in your life? We lose our victory and prolong our march toward our victory by leaning on our own understanding and taking matters into our own hands. Surrendering your problem to God means taking your hands off the problem (i.e., trying to fix it by your natural ability, intellect, or financial resources), and putting it in the hands of God. The trying of our faith works patience in us. Let patience be perfected in you – (James 1:3-4).
- Temperance (self-restraint) – Joshua instructed the people to be silent, not to speak a word, nor make any noise – (Joshua 6:10). Controlling our speech is a challenge. The Bible says that the tongue is a small member that boasts great things. It is an unruly evil that no man can tame – (James 3:5-8). How many times have you lost your temper and said things that you regretted later? We can lose our joy, our victory, our witness and testimony if we don’t learn how to bring this small member under submission to the spirit and Word of God.
The fall of Jericho’s walls is an encouragement to believers today to trust God’s promises and obey His Word, no matter how impossible the situation may appear to be. When you receive, surrender to, and obey God’s Word, you invite God’s presence into your life, enabling you to accomplish his will and Walk into your Victory.
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