Conquering Your Spiritual Jerichos

By Kenneth W. Hagin

As you begin the new year, are you nearing the “Promised Land” of something in your life? Have you stood fast, patiently waiting for your prayers to be answered, and now you see the fruition of those prayers on the horizon? Perhaps you are near to receiving from God something you have longed for. If so, this is not the time to quit! You can press on and conquer your “Jericho” and receive all that God has in store for you.

 

Even if you are beginning to possess your Promised Land, so to speak, this is no time to sit back and relax. The start of each year is a time to take stock of the past year—of what you have accomplished or have yet to accomplish—and to make plans and set goals.

As a new year begins, we look forward to the future, hopefully anticipating the good things to come. But we shouldn’t be surprised if there are battles to face. Instead, we must know how to win the victory and possess what God has promised us. We must be ready for our spiritual Jerichos.

You see, Jericho was the Israelites’ first battle after they crossed the Jordan to possess the Promised Land. But God gave them the plan for winning this battle without a fight! It was to be won with the high praises of God in their mouths and with a shout of victory!

Jericho was not won by fighting a battle! Think about that! God instructed the Israelites to march around Jericho once a day for six days without making a sound. So they did it. They had their marching orders even though in the natural, the instructions didn’t seem to make sense. Then on the seventh day, the Israelites marched around Jericho seven times.

The seventh time, the Israelites blew trumpets and shouted and praised God, and the walls fell down. Then the children of Israel simply went in and took possession of what God had promised them! They didn’t fight in this battle. They just obeyed God’s instructions, shouting and praising Him, and He gave them the victory.

As Christians living under the New Covenant, for us to possess our “Canaan land,” we, too, will have Jerichos—spiritual ones—that we must take for God’s glory. God has placed desires and goals in each one of us—pursuits and dreams that are His will for our lives. We all have Jerichos to possess. But God has promised to give them to us! It will be done by His power and for His glory, not by our own might, and we will give Him all the praise for it!

Our Christian experience on earth is, in a spiritual sense, what going through life was in the natural for the children of Israel. The Israelites fought natural enemies that loomed as giants. Our warfare is against supernatural enemies that sometimes seem huge. However, under the New Covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ has already defeated our enemy, Satan! We need only to stand our ground in Jesus’ victory, declaring God’s Word and praising Him for our triumph in Christ.

God didn’t promise us a life free from spiritual Jerichos. But He did promise that through Him we can conquer every one, because He has given us victory over every circumstance through Christ (1 Cor. 15:57; 2 Cor. 2:14).

Therefore, when you come up against spiritual Jerichos, begin to encompass them one by one with the Word of God: “Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world!” “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” “By His stripes I am healed.” “I am more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ.” “God always causes me to triumph in every circumstance!” “All my needs are met according to God’s riches in glory through Christ Jesus” (1 John 4:4; Phil. 4:13; 1 Peter 2:24; Rom. 8:37; 2 Cor. 2:14; Phil. 4:19).

Whatever you are facing in life right now, whatever you desire to obtain in 2011, if you will learn how to praise God before you see your answer, God will give you the victory! Whatever you need from God, it’s available right now if you’ll just begin to take Him at His Word and praise Him for the provisions He’s already made for you in that Word!

Yes, you might have to stand your ground for a time. Your situation may not change overnight. But if you faithfully trust God and His Word, and praise Him for the outcome, you will see your victory! Refuse to give up! Stay in God’s presence, singing His praises, and your faith will be gloriously rewarded!