Do It Again

Lately it seems we are getting hammered in the pocketbook.  Not cheap stuff either.  Home repairs, car repairs, dental, and of course the vet bill for a under the weather kitty...One hit after the other.  And all the while I've been praying for God to give me a miracle in my finances because of the bad decisions I've made in the past.  I'm not really sure why so many times it seems that the more I pray about something the worse it gets.  Maybe it's that old adage "It's always darkest before the dawn."  (I don't know if that is actually true or not, as I try not to be awake and functioning at that time. lol)

Well, of course a bunch worry and fret was going thru my head when I got in the car to run errands on Sunday. As I turned on the radio I heard someone talking about no matter what our problem or difficulty was, God was faithful.  And I turned on the radio at exactly the time financial problems were being mentioned too!  Turns out this person was one of the performers of song called Do It Again, by Elevation Worship.  The first lines of the song, "Walking around these walls, I thought they's fall by now"  got me to thinking about the Israelites marching around Jericho in Joshua chapter 6. 

Joshua 6:1-21  Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go out or in. 2 But the Lord said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors. 3 You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. 4 Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. 5 When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.”  6 So Joshua called together the priests and said, “Take up the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, and assign seven priests to walk in front of it, each carrying a ram’s horn.” 7 Then he gave orders to the people: “March around the town, and the armed men will lead the way in front of the Ark of the Lord.”  8 After Joshua spoke to the people, the seven priests with the rams’ horns started marching in the presence of the Lord, blowing the horns as they marched. And the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant followed behind them. 9 Some of the armed men marched in front of the priests with the horns and some behind the Ark, with the priests continually blowing the horns. 10 “Do not shout; do not even talk,” Joshua commanded. “Not a single word from any of you until I tell you to shout. Then shout!” 11 So the Ark of the Lord was carried around the town once that day, and then everyone returned to spend the night in the camp.  12 Joshua got up early the next morning, and the priests again carried the Ark of the Lord. 13 The seven priests with the rams’ horns marched in front of the Ark of the Lord, blowing their horns. Again the armed men marched both in front of the priests with the horns and behind the Ark of the Lord. All this time the priests were blowing their horns. 14 On the second day they again marched around the town once and returned to the camp. They followed this pattern for six days.  15 On the seventh day the Israelites got up at dawn and marched around the town as they had done before. But this time they went around the town seven times. 16 The seventh time around, as the priests sounded the long blast on their horns, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the town! 17 Jericho and everything in it must be completely destroyed as an offering to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and the others in her house will be spared, for she protected our spies.  18 “Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. 19 Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the Lord and must be brought into his treasury.”  20 When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it. 21 They completely destroyed everything in it with their swords—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys.

What a crazy way to fight a battle, right?  What good could marching around a city do?  Yet God had a plan.  One of the things that got me about the story is how the Israelites were told to be silent.  To me, in my situation this means no complaining about my circumstances.  No whining to God, "when God when?"  No constant worried thoughts flooding and flowing around my mind.  It's just listening to God, obeying and then a victory shout!   I do my part, (like curb my spending, readjust my priorities) and He will do His.  Deliverance and victory are assured because my God is a God who is faithful and able and willing. 

So what is your Jericho?  What has you fretting and unsettled?  God is faithful.  Most times I think His solutions are nothing we would think of or do.  And that's where faith comes in.  It's not our solution, our way, our will, our bright ideas or human strength.  Hosea 1:7  "But I will show love to the people of Judah. I will free them from their enemies—not with weapons and armies or horses and charioteers, but by my power as the Lord their God.”   What a faithful, wonderful God we serve. 

Lord help my faith to match Your faithfulness.  Keep me focused on the fact that You love me and nothing is in my life that does not have Your approval and Your purpose.  And thank You that even when it's though my own failures and bad choices, Your love never stops and You are willing to help me overcome and persevere through  whatever comes.