Josh 6

We can enjoy some great insights in Joshua 6 which provide us with much needed ammunition and fuel to take on and take down existing strongholds, challenges and obstacles in our lives. 

With God the Battle is Over Before it Begins

To possess the Promised land that God had for Israel they had to conquer Canaan. The well fortified city of Jericho was the toughest and greatest obstacle in their way.  However, we read that the toppling of Jericho was already a foregone conclusion as far as God was concerned:

“And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valour.” (verse 2). 

What a world of difference this knowledge made for Joshua. We can be sure he had oodles more confidence when carrying out his job of rallying the troops for battle against the Cannanites that day. We see in the rest of the account that it was indeed as God had said.What challenges or strongholds do you face? We could all do with knowing that God is on our side. Do you fully know this in your situation? If you do that's great. If you don't, simply believe it. Think about it over and over again, sing about it, preach it to yourself, write it down even – God is with me and for me, he fights my battles when I fight them with him.

God has the Strategies for Victory

I still chuckle in wonder over the story that Robby Dawkins shares about the lady who obediently followed the instructions God gave her. She was directed to pull off a handstand in the middle of a shop, which lead to a retail attendant getting saved. Interestingly, prior to the witness of a handstand the retail clerk had asked God to prove he was real by getting someone to perform a handstand right in front of her!

The plans that Joshua received from God concerning how they were to conquer Jericho were nonsensical in terms of military tactics. In fact back then as well as today they would appear to most people as counterintuitive at best and catastrophic at worst. But this shows the chasm between man's wisdom and God's wisdom. The plans as absurd as they may have appeared to  human logic were spiritual dynamite in the hands of God. Spiritual logic is always far superior to human logic because it comes from a God who is perfect and perfectly in control of all things. How often do we plan to tackle challenges and great obstacles without considering God and what he has to say about things? Like Joshua and the Israelites it's key that we seek spiritual wisdom from God. Reading the bible and praying to God to help us apply his word to our lives will equip us with much needed spiritual wisdom.

Living by Faith and Not by Sight

In his epistle to the Corinthians, within the context of living as sojourners on Earth away from the physical presence of the Lord, Paul writes “For we walk by faith and not by sight.” In our reading of Joshua 6 we are reminded of this great calling and remedy to fears. Joshua, the elders and the nation of Israel certainly needed much faith to put into practice what God had instructed them concerning Jericho. God's revealed battle tactics would have appeared just as bizarre to the Israelites as it was to the Canaanites, yet they trusted in God and put his plan into action. 

This is faith in action. Spiritual wisdom is great, but spiritual wisdom alone does not topple down the Jerichos of our lives. We must apply spiritual wisdom through faith, like Joshua and Israel did, in order to see our Jerichos fall. The late evangelist Reinhard Bonnke likened faith to electricity in a conductor – it gets things started, moving, working and, in the case of a colossus like Jericho, falling. Are you a “conductor” of “electric” faith? The bible shares that every Christian has been given a measure of faith. So if you are a Christian, you are a “conductor” of faith – this is your default setting. However, you like every other Christian will likely struggle with resistance to the flow of faith that God has for you to operate in. We're told in the scriptures that faith comes through hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17) and we're commanded to continually renew our minds with the word of God (Romans 12:2). The spiritual wisdom of God, his word, is powerful enough to steer us into God's will and fashion us into the image of Jesus. How wonderful is that? A daily healthy diet of scripture does more wonders for your mind than your five-fruit-and-veg-a-day. Scripture renews or in other words transforms your mind, taking away hindrances and resistances to faith in Jesus and his plans. Like Joshua, let us take God at his word, trust in it and put it into action today.

Mike Ikwuagwu