Conquering Your Jericho (part 1)

Bible Reference: Joshua 6:1-9

I don't know about you, but in the recent past I have had my own personal Jericho staring me in the face.  You know, those challenges that are bigger than you are.  We all have them.  I was just talking to a good friend who has had her share of "jerichos".  And try as she may to run head long at it, the wall gets the best of her and she has found herself frustrated and confused.  Her situation and my own challenges led me to revisit the story of the Israelites at Jericho. 
You can read the whole story in Joshua 6.  More than likely Jericho sat on a hill and had walls about 30 feet high.  These walls were thick enough that soldiers could walk around the top of it.  To the Israelites it appeared to be an impenetrable fortress.  Can we all say, "we know the feeling!"?  Even with their massive walls, the city of Jericho was a bit worried when the Israelites showed up.  No doubt they had heard the accounts of what God had been doing for His people.  So the city was shut up tight.  It clearly states in chapter 6 that no one went in or out of the city.
God gave Joshua, the Israelites leader, a promise.  He tells Joshua in verse 2, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and fighting men.".  That should instill some confidence.
What in your life do you need to conquer?  An addiction? Job problems?  Marital strain? Issues with your kids?  I believe at some point we are all faced with our very own "jericho"....something that seems impossible to overcome or beat. 
Joshua and the Israelites were facing down Jericho with no way on their own to overthrow the city.  Yet God had told Joshua that the city would be delivered to them.  Joshua took that promise to heart, in faith, and boldly went about God's plan for victory.  The plan was extremely unconventional.  March around the city for six days.  On the seventh day, march around it not once, but seven times.  Then the plan was to blow trumpets and shout.  That was the great plan.  Thankfully, they served a great God!  Joshua believed so firmly in the promise God gave him that he boldly led the Israelites in a march around the city. 
The Israelites' example has taught me three lessons in dealing with life's challenges. 
First, if I want to be successful in overcoming a challenge, I have to be willing to stand on the promises of God.  The truth and faithfulness of God is bankable.  There is an old hymn that says, "Standing, standing.  I'm standing on the promises of Christ my Savior.  Standing, standing.  I'm standing on the promises of God."  We would be wise to make this our mantra when we are up against a wall.  But the trick here is that we have to know the promises in order to stand on them and believe in them.  Joshua was diligent to have a relationship with God that led him to receive the promise of his success in overthrowing Jericho.  That is what he placed his confidence and hope in.  Where is our hope and confidence placed?  When faced with the impossible, do we look to our circumstances?  Or are we standing on the unfailing, never changing power of God.  Jericho thought they were unbeatable.  Their confidence was in the physical wall they had built around their city.  The problem was that Jericho didn't plan on the supreme power of God and the promise that no wall is to big for God.  Your personal "jericho" may seem like the heavy weight champion of the world, unbeatable.  But consider what your foundation is.  What is the reality of the God you serve?  What promises can you look to in His word that allows you to stand in confidence?

More lessons from this remarkable story will come in the following blog posts.  But consider the challenges you might face right now.  If you find yourself thinking that you are defeated and the wall is impossible, go to the scriptures.  Spend sometime meditating on the promises God gives us.  Pray that God will give you His strength to stand on the truth and walk in His power.

1.Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
through eternal ages let his praises ring;
glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
standing on the promises of God.
Refrain:
Standing, standing,
standing on the promises of Christ my Savior;
standing, standing,
I'm standing on the promises of God.

2. Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
by the living Word of God I shall prevail,
standing on the promises of God.
(Refrain)

3. Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
bound to him eternally by love's strong cord,
overcoming daily with the Spirit's sword,
standing on the promises of God.
(Refrain)

4. Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
listening every moment to the Spirit's call,
resting in my Savior as my all in all,
standing on the promises of God.
(Refrain)