You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days.
Joshua 6:3 (NLT)
Jericho’s walls were some of the strongest they’d ever seen: virtually indomitable, tall and wide enough to incorporate houses, guarded by soldiers day and night, sealed with strong gates. The Israelites took one look at the daunting walls and wondered how they could ever conquer this stronghold.
To make matters worse, Joshua had instructed his men to march around the town once a day for six days, then walk around Jericho seven times on the seventh day. Joshua’s soldiers were trained for hand-to-hand combat. Their palms were itching to wield their sharpened swords. Yet, rather than fight, these skilled warriors were told to parade around the city walls. That’s like asking a professional basketball player to clean the locker rooms or expecting a successful surgeon to man the phones in his clinic. Surely, they questioned the wisdom of God’s plan.
Trudging around a wall for six days isn’t all that glamorous. It’s dusty, humbling, and undignified. But God had a purpose for the plodding. He was teaching the Israelites faithful obedience. Trust and obey; such a difficult task, especially when we’re down in the dirt and the grime.
At times, God asks the same of us. Caring for a special-needs child can test our sense of purpose, leaving us to wonder if this is all there is to life. Surely God has a bigger plan for our lives!
Yet God calls us to trust and obey. For some reason, He chose you and me to raise our special child and entrusted us with their care. Far from glamorous, our role is not necessarily to wield a sword but to trudge around those daunting walls day after day in faithful obedience.
There is no greater service than to love, knowing that love might not be reciprocated. Some of our greatest feats may not be those seen by the eyes of men, but those perceived only by our heavenly Father who honors every little act of loving service performed in His name.
Thought: “If you be faithful, you will have that honor that comes from God: his Spirit will say in your hearts, Well done, good and faithful servants.” – Adam Clarke
For further reading:
- 1 Corinthians 13:7
- 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
- Philippians 2:3-11
- James 1:12
Excerpt from my devotional, A Year in God’s Classroom