I Saw the Sign
I moved a lot as a kid. We weren’t in the military or anything but I have now deduced that my dad was in crude oil futures and apparently that meant that we could be relocated for jobs all the time, constantly pursuing that notion of bigger and better. By the time I was in high school, I had lived in all kinds of places and while that meant that I got very much accustomed to being the new kid in school, it also meant that I got REALLY good at movement. And it’s continued well into my adult years - I moved to the Bay Area in 2006 and doing some quick math, I have moved 9 times in just over 14 years. Yep. Indeed I am part of a very strange subset of the population that actually loves packing, and I am not at all a fan of unpacking (more on this later).
Our friends the Israelites were also quite nomadic and though they were headed for a promised land, they actually wandered in circles for years, and for those who know the story, we can all agree that there was a lot of movement, but not a lot of progress (if you don’t know the story, please read Exodus - I guarantee you it is filled with important lessons that are definitely still relevant today). Our amazing pastors did a series on Exodus recently and I was reminded of so many of the ways that my life had become movement but not progress.
And for us, there can be such a tendency toward motion, distraction, numbing etc. that there comes a time when it becomes important to stop. God knows (as does my favorite women’s fitness watch I got for my birthday last year) I have not been moving nearly as much as I should be these last few weeks and I am not happy about it. Also my daughter is no longer entertained by the internet thanks to mom needing to work while schools are out (I know, #parentinggoals). Sometimes God reminds in seasons of waiting that we actually need to stop and trust him even when it's difficult. About a year ago, one of my all-time favorite guest speakers Christian Huang (founder of Mobilize Love) came to our church and spoke beautifully to this notion of waiting well saying "you cannot microwave fruit" (seeds need to be sewn into good soil and it takes time for the plant to grow and make ripe fruit - YES!). He also gave me this VERY good reminder (during my favorite mic drop moment at 10:45) about how counter-cultural it is to wait and trust: "The world’s mantra is this: Don’t just stand there, do something! But you know what, in the kingdom of God, it’s just the opposite. In the kingdom of God, it’s “don’t just do something, stand there." This is good and wise counsel and I have watched this video MULTIPLE times trying to get myself to be still when God is asking me to be.
And…
There is a time when we are called to act. God has plans for us, he has a promise of a full life for us that is purely a gift from him, something we do not deserve and cannot earn completely available to us at any time...but we do have to claim it. There are countless ways the Bible gives us lessons and examples from which to draw and today I invite you to consider Jericho.
Jericho was the first major city the Israelites (aka God's people) encountered in Canaan (aka the promised land) after crossing the Jordan river (really cool story in Joshua 3 and 4 you should check out), which of course is where they were headed after being delivered out of Egypt (aka slavery). You may recall that God had guided Moses and the people throughout the wilderness and they were poised at the threshold of claiming the gift promised to them but Moses wasn't even able to enter the promised land, and as it turns out, there was still work for them to do. The act of claiming the land would require conquering a series of cities and Joshua 6 begins with a description of the gates of Jericho being tightly closed with their people on full alert because they knew the Israelites were coming. Now at this point, Moses has passed on and God has told Joshua to be strong and courageous (multiple times) and he is leading this massive group of people while faithfully submitting to God’s plan to conquer Jericho, the military stronghold between them and Canaan.
So what does God have him do? Joshua 6:3-5 tells us that God said: “You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. 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.”
This is an uncommon battle strategy. Let’s pick it apart:
THEY HAD TO ACT
At the end of Christian Huang's message cited above, he rightly points out that God does want us to study the Bible and internalize it (Joshua 1:8, and a whole bunch of other verses) but he also wants us to get to work doing what it says and clean our room (aka take up our cross). He does not want us to just memorize what he says, or study it in Greek, or "have friends come over [aseptically via Zoom] and study what it would look like to clean [our] room". Jesus echoed this in the New Testament also: "Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me." (Luke 9:23 NLT). Picking up and addressing your stuff (for me, alcohol abuse and a whole host of other sins) and choosing to following Jesus involves a ton of action and there is much in this story that can encourage us.
THEY HAD TO BE VULNERABLE
Walking circles around a city is traditionally not known as a way to begin a battle, even if the folks inside have heard of you and are likely a combination of curious and scared. Their opponents had the home advantage and would have been able to see and attack them very easily as they were in a higher position. When you're choosing to stare down your own stuff by partnering with Jesus, you have to know that the enemy is going to take notice and everything about it will be intimidating, especially because you can't do it alone (rest assured: the battle IS bigger than you!). I've heard lots of stories about people in sobriety doing it in their own strength but everything we have, including our intellect, our resolve, our discipline, our creativity is a gift from God, and believers know how much more can be accomplished when you go with God's plan. On the surface though, our challenges look like impenetrable walls and they can feel like impossible strongholds.
THEY HAD TO ENDURE
Starting something can be comparatively easy compared to sustaining something (ask any Enneagram 7). Walking around the city the first time probably felt encouraging, like 'we're all in this together' and clearly it is what God asked us to do, so it must be the right thing. I reckon however, that after say the 3rd or 4th day there were more than just a few folks wondering if it would really work, having not seen any signs of change. How many times have you charged ahead into a project, a program, even the hard work of repairing a relationship only to start to wonder if what you are doing is even going to make a difference?
THEY HAD TO KEEP THE MAIN THING THE MAIN THING
And this is the clincher: the people had to follow the Ark. What does that mean? They needed to keep their eyes on the sign of the covenant (aka promise/contract/agreement) God made with them and remind themselves that he is WITH THEM. When God was preparing Joshua to lead the Israelites, he assured him by saying, "No one will be able to stand against you as long as you shall live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you nor abandon you." (Joshua 1:5, NLT) Joshua's confidence was in God and knew that it was God's presence that makes all the difference. Even though Joshua was fortifying himself by focusing on God's words so that it penetrated his heart and mind, it was the choice to step out in faith as seen by his actions that made the difference.
“Then Joshua asked them, “How long are you going to wait before taking possession of the remaining land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given to you?” Joshua 18:3 NLT
Spoiler alert: the walls of Jericho fell and set off a series of other battles in which kings were defeated and Israel was given the tremendous opportunity to lay claim to the land of milk and honey they were promised.
But what happened? Seven of the original tribes had not been allotted their land. How could they possibly have heard the stories of how God delivered their parents and grandparents from Egypt, personally witnessed God's power in destroying Jericho and so many other cities but still need Joshua (who if you haven't figured out by now is a representation of Jesus - same name and everything) to push them? Well, I get that. These people were not used to permanence, not used to a sense of home and as someone who's spent the bulk of my life in physical and metaphorical transition and constant activity, I understand being tentative about something promised, even if it is something good.
But the thing is: God answers prayers. He is faithful to his promises. He wants fullness in your life based on permanence in him. All things are possible when you keep what's most important at the forefront of your mind: God. And the thing is, you won't be able to understand it at all, in fact you might even want to stop walking at Day 3 of the journey because it DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!!! (And trust me when I say that it won't make sense and honestly at some point, that will actually be wonderful!). Things like sobriety, or a spouse or a house can seem like promises for other people, bound by walls that are too tall for you. You may have even heard people say you just need to "let go, and let God" and that might infuriate you because you are used to having to take care of everything. But last week I bought a real house with a bunch of my money and a lot more of the bank’s money. Let me rephrase: a single mom bought a forever home/detached house with a yard in San Francisco in the middle of a terrible global pandemic. This week I spent the entire time working/hanging out with my amazing daughter, and I enjoyed every minute that much more because next week I will celebrate 8 months of sobriety. Those are called MIRACLES people. I can tell you hand on heart I have been brought to my knees in complete helplessness several times in the overlapping processes that comprise this last year. But that is the best part. It is what made space for God's blessing to rush in.
Laura McKowen echoed this really well in a recent interview from her book tour: "The drinking was actually killing me, but not using my potential was equally as painful because this is the thing: our unused potential is not benign. What grows in its place is a darkness, a bitterness, depression, despair. It’s deeply painful. Sobriety is wonderful for many reasons, but chief among them is knowing I am living into what’s possible for me."
Miracles are possible when you trust God. Unpack your stuff with him. Wishing you courage, vulnerability, endurance and focus as you get free from your stuff and chase after what he has for you.❤️