“I did it all. I argued with him. I tried to get him to read books. I shared podcasts with him. I went alone to workshops to learn how to better connect with him. But it seemed like the more I pried, prodded and pushed him to return to the faith, the more he locked his knees and refused to budge.
Finally I realized that the battle wasn’t the kind of battle that could be won through my own logic, intelligence or persuasion. To see my son come back to faith in Christ, I had to battle in prayer. My greatest weapon was the quiet calm assurance that the weapons I must use are not worldly. They aren’t the fruit of my own cunning. My weapons of love, prayer and faith seemed illogical. But I knew that these walls of rebellion were too big for me to knock down without them.”
These were the words of a father watching his son leave the faith and then 10 years later, return with a more vibrant love of God that he ever had in the first place.
The ancient story of Jericho is more than just another amazing conquest of land and restoration of an ancient promise to the Hebrews. It actually is a spiritual principle to trust in the power of prayer, to follow God’s directions, and to revel in the power of worship. This is not some dead historical narrative. It’s alive.
The walls that we face can overwhelm us if we let them. You look at that prodigal in your life, the broken relationship, the addiction, the job loss, a bad report from the doctor. The walls can be daunting and we say, “There is no way I can overcome this without God!” My friend, at that moment, I believe that the Holy Spirit smiles. He has you right where He wants you. He’s ready to break through and orchestrate a divine demolition of that wall you thought was stronger that a curtain of steel. He wants you to lean into the declaration: GOD CAN.
All you must do is follow the instructions tucked away in the epic of Joshua 6:
The March: That’s the daily discipline of life. Don’t stop. Don’t give up. 7 times–seven days of the week.
The Horn: That’s the declaration. It’s celebrating the victory before the first stone falls from the evil fortress you face.
The Shout: That’s the worship. There’s nothing that make the darkness scatter than the name of Jesus confidently spoken into every lost cause.
And by the way, don’t forget to find Jesus’ great, great, great…. grandmother in the story. Her name was Rahab, the prostitute. (Backstory: God can you anybody to do anything at any time to deliver anyone. He loves to show his power in broken lives.)
Now what were you saying about your walls and the impossibility of change?