You've Got to Walk Around It: What the Battle of Jericho Teaches Us About Obedience and Breakthrough
Most of us want our breakthroughs fast. We want to pray once and see results. We want to trust God and immediately watch the walls fall. But the story of Jericho tells a very different story about how God works, and it might be exactly what you need to hear today.
Why Do Christians Still Face Struggles?
There is a common assumption that once you give your life to Christ, things should get easier. No more battles, no more hardship, just smooth sailing.
But Jesus Himself said something that challenges that idea directly. "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." - John 16:33
He did not promise a trouble-free life. He promised His presence through the trouble. That changes everything.
What Is the Battle of Jericho Really About?
In Joshua chapter 6, the Israelites are standing at the edge of their promised land. They have wandered in the desert for 40 years. They have crossed the Jordan River on dry ground. And now, right in front of them, stands the city of Jericho.
Jericho was not a small obstacle. It had massive layered walls, so thick that people built homes on top of them. To the Israelites, who had been living in tents in the wilderness, this city looked completely impossible to take.
And yet God said something remarkable. "See, I have given Jericho into your hand, its king and the mighty men of valor." - Joshua 6:2
Notice the past tense. God said "I have given," not "I will give." The city was still standing. The walls were still up. But God was already speaking from the perspective of a completed victory.
What Does It Mean When God Promises Something You Cannot Yet See?
This is one of the most important things to understand about how God works. His promises do not eliminate your problems. He may declare something done while the obstacle is still right in front of you.
He says "I have healed you," but you are still hurting. He says "I am your provision," but the bills are still there. He promises restoration, but nothing looks different yet.
Just because you cannot see it does not mean God is not doing it.
This is where faith comes in. "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." - Romans 10:17
Faith believes His Word before it sees His works. It trusts the promise long before it witnesses the result.
Why Did God Tell Them to Just Walk Around the Walls?
God's strategy for Jericho was not a battering ram. It was not a ladder or a catapult. It was simply this: walk around the city once a day for six days, and seven times on the seventh day.
That does not make military sense. And that is exactly the point.
If God's plans always made sense, they would not require any faith. The walking was not just a strategy to bring down walls. It was a test of obedience.
Day one, they walked. Nothing happened. Day two, they walked again. Still nothing. Day three, four, five, six. No cracks. No movement. No visible evidence that anything was working.
But something was changing. Not the walls, at least not yet. The people were changing. Their obedience was being built. Their faith was being strengthened. God was preparing them to be ready to receive what He had already promised.
What Happens When You Stay Obedient Without Seeing Results?
Here is a truth that is easy to miss. God is not always waiting for the walls to fall before you can receive the promise. He is often waiting for you to become obedient and ready so that you can handle it when they do.
Think about water dripping on a rock. One drop does nothing. Two drops, still nothing. But after years of consistent, steady drops, a crevice forms. Then a groove. Then eventually, a cave.
It was never one drop that did it. It was all the drops together. The consistency is what made the difference.
The same is true in your walk with God. Every prayer matters. Every act of generosity matters. Every Sunday you show up matters. Every temptation you resist matters. Every difficult conversation you push through matters. Every lap around that wall matters.
Obedience is never wasted with God.
Why Did Joshua Tell the People to Stay Quiet?
Joshua gave the people an interesting instruction before they began marching. "You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth until the day I say to you, 'Shout!'" - Joshua 6:10
No complaining. No criticism. No fear. No negativity. Just walk.
Words matter. It is worth asking how many miracles we have talked ourselves out of. How many promises have been buried by our own mouths before they ever had a chance to come to pass?
Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do while you are waiting on God is to quiet the noise, stop speaking defeat over your situation, and just keep walking in obedience.
Is the Shout What Brought the Walls Down?
When the seventh day came and they had completed their final lap, Joshua told the people to shout. And the walls fell flat.
But here is what is important to understand. The shout did not bring the victory. The obedience did. The walking did. The consistency did. The shout simply celebrated what their faith had already believed.
Too many people want to shout without the walking. They want the excitement and the celebration, but they skip the daily, unglamorous obedience that actually produces the breakthrough.
God is not as concerned with your shout as He is with your walk. He is not as moved by your exuberance as He is by your obedience.
What If You Have Been Walking and Still Have Not Seen Results?
Your greatest breakthrough may be just one more lap away. Do not quit. Do not stop walking simply because you have not seen the results yet.
Every step of faith you have taken has counted. Every moment of obedience has mattered. God has been working behind the scenes in ways you cannot yet see.
The walls will fall. Keep walking.
Life Application
This week, identify one area of your life where you have been waiting on God and feeling tempted to give up. Maybe it is a relationship, a financial situation, a health struggle, or a spiritual battle you have been fighting for a long time. Choose to take one more lap. Show up in obedience, even without evidence that anything is changing. Quiet the negative words you have been speaking over that situation and replace them with trust in what God has already promised.
Ask yourself these questions as you reflect:
- Where in my life am I expecting immediate results from God instead of trusting His timing?
- Have I been waiting for the walls to fall before I start obeying, or am I willing to walk in obedience first?
- What negative words have I been speaking over my situation that I need to stop saying?
- Do I truly believe that every act of obedience matters, even when I cannot see anything changing?
God declares victory before you can see evidence of it. He speaks from His perspective, not yours. Your job is not to figure out how the walls will fall. Your job is to keep walking, keep trusting, and keep obeying. The breakthrough is coming.
