[If you haven’t read part one, I encourage you to first go back and read it. It will give you a basis for this second devotional.]
Has life presented you with a situation that would be easier to give up on than finish? Chances are you face these scenarios on a daily basis. They can be large and daunting to simple, but yet tedious. This fall I cheered on my brother and his friends as they ran a marathon. 26.2 miles! It’s true that most people wouldn’t even get off their couch to begin training, but the part they agreed was the hardest part of the race (where some even quit) was just a few miles before the finish. Can you imagine putting in miles and miles of training, just to stop so close? Let’s look at the story of Jericho and try to put ourselves in their shoes…
“Now Jericho was tightly shut up 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 all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man 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 people, "Advance! March around the city, with the 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. 10 But Joshua had commanded the people, "Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!" 11 So he had the ark of the LORD carried around the city, circling it once. Then the people returned to camp and spent the night there.12 Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the LORD.13 The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the LORD and blowing the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the LORD, while the trumpets kept sounding. 14 So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days. 15 On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times.16 The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the people, "Shout! For the LORD has given you the city! 17 The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. 18 But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. 19 All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the LORD and must go into his treasury." 20 When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city.”
Will you get off the couch?
The first step to running a marathon is the decision to act. As a personal trainer, when I approach a client about setting a new goal, such as running a race, they have to believe that what I’m asking/encouraging them to do is possible. If Joshua did not believe that God could take down the city, he would have never commanded his troops to start marching. Pastor Steven Furtick states, “Impossible situations are not intimidating to God.” If we have faith that God is in control, we will be living a faithfully active life.
Will the “blisters” get the best of you?
God can use the struggles to make you stronger. When a blister heals it produces tougher skin. Often times God will allow things to happen that we do not understand. If God wanted He could have just had Joshua and his army march up to the city and have the walls collapse. What would they have learned from that? After they endured the march they were able to appreciate the awesome power of the hand of God.
Will you finish?
If you’ve ever run a marathon you know the importance of pace setter or mile markers. Wouldn’t it be nice if life was the same way? We sometimes feel like we are enduring an endless struggle. How much longer will this go on? I’m sure the soldiers would have loved to see at least a few bricks fall in their journey. We don’t know what “mile” we are at in our lives. We have to trust that God is faithful to help us endure our race. As I watched my brother run along with his friends, wouldn’t it be tragic if they would have stopped at mile 23? So close. Wouldn’t it have also been sad if the soldiers stopped on day 6 and never got to see God make the walls fall?
Don’t stop. If you are struggling in your own marathon, remember that God has a purpose for your race. It may seem tedious and never ending. It may seem silly or ridiculous. It may seem like you don’t have the strength to go on. It may seem downright impossible. And it may seem like no one else understands. Rest in the ever faithful Father and believe that He will achieve His plan in your life. In verse 27 it goes on to say, “So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.” Keep going and see what God does!
