When the walls don't fall

Do you remember the story in the Bible when the Israelites marched around the city of Jericho? God told them to walk around the city, which was surrounded by a massive wall, a certain amount of times in a certain amount of days. At the end of that time, the Israelites blew trumpets and made a loud noise and the walls of the city crumbled to the ground. The Israelites walked in and took over Jericho. What an awesome miracle that was!  Of course, this is a tiny glimpse of the story... you should read the whole account.

What's really important is that the Israelites obeyed God and the walls came down. Now, follow me down a rabbit hole for a moment.... The Israelites were told they were going to take the city. What if they walked around the outside of Jericho for days, praying and waiting for God to do His thing. And at the end, the trumpeters blew until they were blue in the face, and the Israelites screamed a mighty yell at the wall.... and nothing happened. The wall stood firm. Nothing changed. No miracle happened. They were left in the same spot as they were the day before.

Thank goodness that is not how the story ended. God did do a miracle and walls did come down. However, I think for those of us who are praying on big matters, we are afraid that we will come down to the end and walls will still be standing. We secretly are afraid that God is not going to show up or come through for us. Why is that?  Well, for me, it is because I have prayed for things in the past and the outcome hasn't always gone according to plan. Or worse, there was no outcome at all. And I am left toe-to-toe with my own wall of Jericho wondering why it didn't fall.

When it feels like our prayers are not answered it is frustrating and disheartening. And I know for me personally, it has robbed me of some of my boldness when it comes to me petitioning the throne. I allow doubt to creep in with each "unanswered prayer." -- I put that in quotes because I believe the prayers are answered- maybe not in a way we can see. Or the prayer is just not yet answered. But what I do know... is that God doesn't leave us hanging and He surely doesn't ignore us. He promises in His Word that He is listening, He wants to hear from us, He wants for us to call on His name. Just thumb through Psalms...there are dozens of verses that speak on this.

I am reminded of Isaiah 43: 1-3

But now, this is what the Lord says—
    he who created you, Jacob,
    he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters,
    I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze.
³ For I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I could write an entire blog post on just this group of verses... I love this passage. I know some of you reading this are going through a tough spot in life. You've emailed me and messaged me some of your struggles. Let me just offer you this encouragement.... I AM TOO!  (haha) I love hearing from you because if we are going through our own tough time, at least we don't have to go through it alone!

We all face our own walls and we pray for God to make them fall at our feet. But sometimes, God wants us to wait. And maybe waiting has nothing to do with us. Maybe something is happening on the other side of the wall that He is working on before we see an answer. Maybe He isn't going to make the wall come down all at once, but He wants us to remove the wall, brick by brick. Or, maybe He is going to make a way for you to scale that wall and stand on top of it.... a victor!

There is a scripture that declares God's ways are higher than ours. It means that truly, He knows best. Take that word and couple it with the passage in Jeremiah where God promises that He only has good things for us.... I think we can rest in knowing that we don't have to know, or see, or hear. That is where faith enters in and trusting in Him takes over.

I'm not toe-to-toe with my wall.... my body is smashed against it, my face pressing in on it and my fists pounding on the wall to fall. I know your frustration. I know your fear. I know your doubt. I am standing there with you. But let me say this to you... God knows the wall is there. He sees you circling it, kicking at it, screaming at it, throwing things at it, sitting down and crying before it. He knows all of that.... and He is right there next to you. Your emotions don't scare Him...so let Him know how you're feeling. Your fears are not going to shake Him....so tell Him you're scared, tell Him you are wondering what's going on. Ask Him to lead you over that wall, give you the strength to start taking it down one block at a time or to knock it off its foundation. But also pray that you be given His peace to circle the city one more time if that is what He wants you to do today.