Overcoming Our Spiritual Jerichos

// Kenneth W. Hagin

GOD TOLD JOSHUA to command all the Israelites to cross the Jordan River and possess the Promised Land. Immediately after they dealt with that impossibility, they were confronted by another impossible barrier. The city of Jericho loomed before them as a mighty impenetrable fortress.

Jericho was a stronghold of the enemy and a fortress no one had been able

to defeat. Many battles and sieges had been fought against Jericho as enemies tried to conquer it. But no one had ever succeeded. It's interesting how God told the Israelites to conquer this city.

Joshua was a fighting man. He knew a lot about warfare and military strategy. But Joshua was also a man of faith. God gave him a battle plan that didn't make any sense according to sound military strategy. Because Joshua was a man of faith, he trusted the Lord and followed God's plan exactly.

The Battle Plan Is Not Natural—It's Spiritual

Normally in the Old Testament, when one army wanted to conquer a city, they'd have to fight the enemy for it. But in this battle, the Lord told the Israelites that He was going to give them the city.

Here was God's plan. The Israelites were supposed to march around the city once each day for six days. Then on the seventh day, the priests were to blow a trumpet as the people shouted with a great shout (Joshua 6:1–5).

Just by following God's battle plan, the Lord said the walls of Jericho would fall down. When you study Old Testament history, you can see how impossible that battle plan was. For one thing, many of these cities were walled and heavily fortified.

For another thing, what good was a shout going to do? It didn't make any sense that strong fortified walls would fall down just because a bunch of people shouted!

But here God told Israel to take that well-fortified city effortlessly with a shout. You see, His power was in the shout! It was a shout of faith and a shout of victory.

Stay in Faith, Even When You Don't Understand the Plan

Can you imagine the commander in chief of an army telling his troops to go into battle but forbidding them to fight! Imagine the generals getting together at the Israelite pentagon tent, saying, "Our boss has lost his mind. Joshua's gotten soft since he became a leader."

But some of those Israelites were old enough to remember what had happened in the past when they did not fully follow God. So regardless of their opinion of God's plan, they obeyed without question and marched around those walls.

Can you also imagine what the people of Jericho thought as they looked down from the city walls and watched the Israelites marching around their city for six days without uttering a word! They probably said, "What are they up to? What do they think they're going to accomplish by walking around Jericho like that?"

In the meantime, the Israelites continued to march, wearing down a big pathway around the city.

We don't always understand everything God tells us to do. But if we'll just obey Him, we'll see the triumph of our obedience. When God tells us to do something, we just have to start out in simple faith, trusting Him regardless of the circumstances. Then God makes a way when there is no way. We possess our promised land with step-by-step obedience.

God's Word Is the Key

God never promised that you wouldn't encounter spiritual Jerichos in your life as you live for Christ. But He did tell you that as you trust His Word, He would conquer every one of them for you. And He promised to give you the victory in every circumstance in life.

However, when you come up against your spiritual Jerichos, you've got to have the Word of God in your heart. Without it, marching around Jericho won't do any good. But with the Word in your heart and in your mouth, you can march around impossible barriers quoting God's Word. Those walls have to come down.

Press in Spiritually for Your Victory

In the New Testament, we fight spiritual battles with spiritual giants. We don't fight or wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers (Eph. 6:12). As we're marching through our promised land, the enemy will throw up one barrier after another. But that doesn't mean we're supposed to stop marching.

When Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, gives you marching orders about possessing something that belongs to you in His Word, just start marching. If you come up against a spiritual barrier, just march right up to it and stand there quoting the Word.

Eventually, that barrier has to get out of the way! As you quote the Word, you'll begin to hear the wall crack as the Word demolishes it piece by piece. Finally the wall will totally crumble under the power of the Word. Then you can take off marching again because Jesus has already told you, "Go possess the land that belongs to you. It's yours!"

FAITH IN ACTION

Say It Until You See It

God's Word will knock down any impenetrable barriers or impossible obstacles in your life. Your responsibility is to quote what God says about the situation. Once you've spoken the Word over the situation, you need to praise Him in faith for the answer.

Make this your declaration right now:

Greater is He who is in me than he that's in the world (1 John 4:4).

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13).

By His stripes, I am healed (Isa. 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24).

In all things, I am more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ who loves me (Rom. 8:37).

God always promises me the victory in every circumstance (1 Cor. 15:57).

No weapon formed against me shall prosper (Isa. 54:17).

All my needs are met according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:19).

If God is for me, who can be against me? (Rom. 8:31).

Thanks be to God who always causes me to triumph in Christ (2 Cor. 2:14).

I shall possess what belongs to me in God!