Shout of faith

A couple of weeks ago while I was visiting Cape Town, I had the great joy of sharing the Word at Every Nation Schaapkraal – a church established to reach out to the surrounding informal settlements by carrying God’s heart for social justice and freedom from every form of alienation as modeled by Jesus Christ.

As the congregation was entering a seven-day fast, I was sharing the story of the fall of Jericho from the book of Joshua, chapter 6. What follows is an abbreviated version of the sermon:

“6 Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred 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. ³ March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. ⁴ Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. ⁵ When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.’ ⁶ So Joshua, son of Nun, called the priests and said to them, ‘Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.’ ⁷ And he ordered the army, ‘Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord.’ ⁸ When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the Lord went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. ⁹ The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding.

When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.

Joshua 6:5

I am super fascinated by this story of Joshua and how he handles the instructions and unusual strategy from the Lord. He was an ordinary man, who trusted in the Lord and was faithful and obedient — a loyal follower of God. His commitment to the Israelites was grounded in sincerity and humbleness. 

Now, how is the story of Joshua relevant in our own lives and the modern world? Two things come to mind: 1) The battle is not ours, but God’s. We must subject and submit our wills and our methods to him. We must try to discern the social, the political, and the religious points at which radical change is called for. 2) God’s purpose for calling his people and giving them a life in abundance is that all families of the earth shall be blessed! 

Now, looking at our lives and circumstances. What are you struggling with? What do you leave in God’s trust? Personally, I leave a lot of things in the trust of God – things I’ve been praying for over a decade. Even though God’s will and timing is about perfection, He wants us to pour our hearts before Him. In Philippians 4:6–7 the Apostle Paul speaks encouraging words about presenting our requests before God. In Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬–7‬ ‭TPT, Paul says:

”Don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing. Be saturated in prayer throughout each day, offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude. Tell him every detail of your life, then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding, will guard your heart and mind through Jesus Christ.” ‬‬

At 6 am every morning my alarm goes off. Sometimes just before breakfast, I walk down to the pond by the park nearby to exercise and to refill my lungs with fresh air. ”Marching” like Joshua (or power walking if you like) around the pond. 

Lately, while doing so, I’ve been reflecting on a verse from Psalms 103:5: ”You satisfy my every desire with good things!”

According to my Swedish translation of this verse, there are seven words to emphasize. So, I decided to walk seven times around the pond, similar to Joshua and his army walking seven times around the walls of Jericho, emphasizing and reflecting on one word each round. 

I have realized that meditating on the Word of God in this way changes me. It changes my attitude and shifts my perspective on things. Speaking the Word, out of the Spirit, sets the heavens in motion and redeems them into being. 

So, what are you carrying in your spirit? What do you desire to see? Sometimes, you don’t need to read a lot, but one verse, or even one word can be enough. As we penetrate each word and syllable of the verse it can strike a new tone of hope and faith in our life. Emphasize each word, dwell on it for a moment, and see how it begins to affect you.

”You satisfy my every desire with good things!”

Psalms 103:5

”YOU satisfy my every desire with good things”

”You SATISFY my every desire with good things”

”You satisfy MY every desire with good things”

”You satisfy my EVERY desire with good things”

”You satisfy my every DESIRE with good things”

”You satisfy my every desire WITH good things”

”You satisfy my every desire with GOOD things”

”You satisfy my every desire with good THINGS”

Do you see that every word carries a treasure and a revelation on its own? It’s amazing what a single verse can bring and speak into our spirit. 

Israel, or the people of God, developed and sustained an important theological tradition that affirmed that the power of God is more stringent than the royal power of horses and chariots. In all parts of the biblical tradition, it is affirmed that the power of God will defeat oppressive kings who have such things. 

Joshua and his army were blowing their trumpets. Similarly, we can find our “weapons” in the Word in today’s world. We need more than ever to get hold of the dynamite of the Word so that our spirit is given life and faith. We need to speak the words so that we hear them for ourselves, so that our enemies can hear them, and so that Jesus hears them!

Jesus tells us to face the Sun man! 

The book of Joshua provided vital perspectives for the people of the time as they faced the confrontations of warfare  by reminding them of what happened in Israel’s victorious conquest of the Promised Land. And this record also guides us as we participate in Christ’s grand fulfillment of what Israel accomplished in the days of Joshua. It challenges us to trust in the triumph of Jesus Christ. It urges us to follow him into battle day by day. And it assures us that despite the challenges we face today, Jesus Christ will return and complete his victorious conquest over evil and its effects throughout creation.

Joshua easily could have become afraid or discouraged as he thought about his opposition and trial. But the Lord promised to carry him. The Lord commanded Joshua to be strong and courageous. Perhaps the secret of true success, at that time as well as now, is complete obedience and surrender to God. God has promised to never leave us, to never forsake us. His promises still apply today.