POSSIBLE!

Has God ever asked you to do or believe something that seems ridiculous, far-fetched or impossible? He did of Joshua. Joshua 6:1-2 says,

Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. Then the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.”

Jericho was a fortified city.  As I was researching the walls of Jericho, I read,

The mound, or “tell” of Jericho was surrounded by a great earthen rampart, or embankment, with a stone retaining wall at its base. The retaining wall was some four to five meters (12–15 feet) high. On top of that was a mudbrick wall two meters (six feet) thick and about six to eight meters (20–26 feet) high.⁴ At the crest of the embankment was a similar mudbrick wall whose base was roughly 14 meters (46 feet) above the ground level outside the retaining wall (see diagram). This is what loomed high above the Israelites as they marched around the city each day for seven days. Humanly speaking, it was impossible for the Israelites to penetrate the impregnable bastion of Jericho.”

To the human eye, there was no way in the world the Israelites would take the city.  It was impossible, yet God said He delivered it into their hands. Herein lies the problem, when faced with the difficult or the impossible, which do you believe?

Do you believe what’s right before your eyes or believe the Lord?

Joshua chose to believe the Lord, even when it looked impossible. Can you imagine being the one to go to the Israelite army and tell them,

We’re going to take the city of Jericho today.  Everybody grab your trumpets, and be quiet about it, because we aren’t going to make a sound.  We’re going to take a walk quietly around the city and then, on my signal, blow your trumpet or shout, then the walls will come crashing down.”

Not your typical call to battle. In fact, it seemed down right ridiculous. How does shouting bring down the walls of a fortified city? When you add the power of God to that shout.

Anything plus God always equals victory.

If you have God on your side, you’re on the winning team. If it looks impossible, don’t stress it.  God specializes in the impossible [Luke 1:37].

Since working survivors of human sex trafficking I remind myself of the story of Jericho often. These precious young girls have gone through more than a lifetime of hurt, pain and evil, and the thought of them having a normal life seems impossible. They have so many hurdles to overcome. They’ve built huge walls around their hearts in order to survive. They’ve stopped believing or trusting in anything or anyone. It just seems impossible. Then I smile and remember how impossible Jericho must have looked to Joshua and the Israelites.

What looks impossible in your world right now? What are you facing that seems like it will get the best of you? Have you invited God into the situation? He won’t intrude. He’s a gentleman.  He’s waiting for you to invite Him into your circumstances. He’s ready, willing and more than able [Ephesians 3:20].

Isn’t it about time some walls came tumbling down?