Jericho

The story of the fall of Jericho as been in my thoughts a lot recently (hence the new name of my blog).  And I was thinking that all of us come to a Jericho moment in our lives, and sometimes more than once.  

After the Israelites had been rescued from Egypt, they wandered around in the desert for a bit, and then found themselves on the brink of the land that God had promised their forefather, Abraham.  They sent in a few spies to check out the land and to help plan their next course of action.  They saw that the land was good, but feared that they couldn't defeat the peoples that were already living in it.  And so, the Israelites decided not to take the land that God had promised them, and they wandered in the desert for 40 years, until all in that generation had passed away.  

So here they were, the next generation, on the banks of the Jordan with the massive walls of Jericho in the distance.  They knew that the Promised Land was just beyond those walls, but it seemed impossible that they could ever get past them.  The Israelites would have to make a choice.  Would they turn back in fear as they fathers had done?  Or would they trust in the promise of God and claim the land that He had for them?

So here's the deal.  God has a promised land for all of us.  He created us to be in relationship with Him, to live in the freedom of His love and His grace.  But all of us seem to have something that keeps us from this life that God has for us.  Each of us has this huge wall of Jericho that needs to come down in order for us to live in the freedom and grace that God offers us, a wall made up of lies about ourselves, about God, about the world.  Eventually we find ourselves at a crossroads.  We find ourselves, like the Israelites, on the banks of the Jordan with the walls of Jericho looming in the distance.  And we have to make a decision:  Are we going to turn back in fear, and let these lies keep us from the life that we were created to have?  Or, will we make the harder choice, to trust God to bring down the wall of lies and to usher us into a life of freedom? (Thanks Alex).

Under the leadership of Joshua, the next generation of Israelites decided to claim this land that God had promised.  They sent in spies and saw that the land was good, and then decided to trust God to give it to them.   The Israelites chose the way of trust.  And through the power of God, the walls of Jericho were reduced to rubble.  

Are we willing to follow in their footsteps?  

It's time for the walls to come tumbling down.