OUR WALL FALL FLAT
God is gracious and merciful, but we must take the first step for us to receive His grace and mercy in our lives. This process is truly difficult because our hearts are fortified like Jericho.
“Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.” (Joshua 6:1)
Our walls are guarded and protected as we hide from our vulnerability inside. Our hearts are inhabited by fear and selfishness, and are protected by our pride. We refuse to let down our guard without a fight. God is on the outside, desiring to conquer our hearts and destroy every evil agent that festers inside our walls. Jesus has gathered His host, as the Ark of the Covenant (His presence), is carried around our walls. We believe, however, that there is no way Jesus and His army is going to conquer our hearts for we are well equipped for battle.
We boast, in pride, that our walls have never been breached and we are confident that our secrets and our sins will never be discovered. As Jesus and His host march around our walls, we don’t understand their tactics, but they continue to march around us silently. “And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout.” (Joshua 6:10) The silence summons the presence of God and empowers their cry. Has Jesus ever cried out to you? When He has completely surrounded us, He cries out for us and our walls fall down flat.
“So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.” (Joshua 6:20)
Our hearts are purged from evil and only His love remains. (Joshua 6:21) God is crying out for our hearts; He is calling out to His sheep to be reconciled with Him, their shepherd.
Our love must be rooted in who He is, not in what He does. Our love for Him is based on the belief of who He is. “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” (I John 4:16) Pure love is shown not through the abundance of tangible blessings we receive, but rather, through the overwhelming knowledge of who God reveals Himself to be.
God’s love is unchanged by our circumstances; it is more than an observable blessing, His love is the blessing. No matter how we perceive Him, He is unquestionably who He reveals Himself to be. Unfortunately, our love is fickle towards God. “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” (Matthew 24:12) We love God as long as He blesses us with health, provisions and even salvation, but when things are taken away, we turn our hearts from God and look for the comfort of someone or something else.
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