How to Be Blessed By God
Believing is Seeing
Scripture: Joshua 6:1-2
Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.
2 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.
There are two phrases in our scripture today that teach an important biblical principle concerning courage. The first phrase is: “Jericho was tightly shut up.” The second phrase is: “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands.” Humanly, these two statements don’t go together. Jericho was prepared for the attack. They saw Israel coming. They fortified themselves and did everything available to fighting soldiers at that time – to be strong for the battle!
In the very next breath, God told Joshua: “See, I have delivered them to you.” I’m sure Joshua was tempted to reply to God: “No, I don’t see that. All I see is a mighty fortress!” God was challenging Joshua to use his eyes of faith. He wanted Joshua to believe it, before seeing it! God’s plan for victory would make a mockery of their normal battle strategy. God’s plan was for them to silently walk once around the city for six days, then on the seventh day, walk around it seven times. This didn’t make military sense to anyone, but Joshua believed God and immediately gave the orders and off they went to attack Jericho…God’s way! They acted in spite of their fears and doubts…that is the definition of courage!
God may be challenging you to believe in Him and His ways before you see the end results. Are you facing your own “Jericho” – a fortress that seems insurmountable? Lift up your head, believe in God’s ways and timing. Trust Him, He won’t let you down!
“Father, my problems are real, but I choose to believe you have the plan that solves them all. I’ll rest in you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”