On April 22, 2023 as snow blankets our day and postponed our sporting events, I read this devotion on my YouVersion app Walls Fall Down-God’s Unusual Plan for Victory
Though it takes great discipline, one of the most important keys to success is consistency. The Israelites had been walking in the desert for 40 years. That’s 14,600 days of putting one foot in front of the other. They finally arrive at Jericho, which was on the edge of their Promised Land, and God tells them to walk for seven more days.
This is such a powerful picture to us of trust, obedience, perseverance, and consistency. At the battle of Jericho, Joshua and his men had to do the same task every day for one week. God told them to march around the walls for seven days. Through this simple exercise, God is building up the faith of His people.
Put yourself in the Israelites’ sandals for a moment. They are standing in the shadow of a huge obstacle—the double fortified walls of Jericho—with a battle plan that didn’t make any sense. The first few days were probably okay, but what if by the fifth or sixth day, a few soldiers grew tired of walking and said, “This is ridiculous. Nothing is happening. Let’s stop this nonsense.” There always comes a point in the journey where it’s tempting to quit, but Joshua and the Israelites kept marching. Every day, step after step, they put their trust in God.
The task may have sounded boring and the instructions may have seemed trivial. But the secret to most successes is doing the right thing and doing it each and every day.
For believers, this means having a quiet time every morning to read your Bible, pray, and seek the Lord. It means attending church every weekend. It means living out the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), putting on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6), loving others (1 Corinthians 13), and letting your light shine (Matthew 5:14-16). Not just some days, but each and every day.
As you march around the walls that represent your own personal Jericho, don’t grow weary. Don’t lose heart. You must keep pressing forward. You have to persevere. And you have to be consistent. Chip away at the walls piece-by-piece and step-by-step, and you will eventually see those walls fall down.