APRIL 21, 2015
Facing The
Impossible
Read:
Joshua
5:13–6:5
See!
I have given Jericho into your hand. —Joshua 6:2
In 2008, house values
were tumbling in the United Kingdom. But 2 weeks after my husband and I
put our home of 40 years on the market, a buyer offered us a good price and we
agreed to a sale. Soon our builders started work on the house I had inherited,
which would be our new home. But a few days before the sale of our old home was
finalized, our buyer pulled out. We were devastated. Now we owned two
properties—one whose value was tumbling rapidly, and the other a virtual ruin
that we could neither sell nor move into. Until we found a new buyer, we had no
money to pay the builder. It was an impossible situation.
When Joshua faced
Jericho, a fortified city in lockdown, he may have felt as if he was facing an
impossible situation (Josh. 5:13–6:27). But then a Man with a drawn sword
appeared to him. Some theologians think the Man was Jesus Himself. Joshua
anxiously asked if He would be backing the Israelites or their enemies in the
forthcoming battle. “‘Neither one,’ he replied. ‘I am the commander of the Lord’s army’” (5:14 nlt). Joshua bowed in worship before he took
another step. He still didn’t know how Jericho would be delivered into his
hand, but he listened to God and worshiped Him. Then he obeyed the Lord’s
instructions and the impossible happened.
Dear Lord, often when
I am faced with an impossible situation I choose worry rather than trust. Help
me to trust You and to remember that nothing is too hard for You.
Nothing is impossible
for the Lord.
Source: Our Daily Bread 2012