a state of tranquility or quite;
freedom from disquieting and oppressive thoughts and emotions...
Despite popular assumptions, peace must not be confused with the sensation of comfort or the lack of any physical/emotional unpleasantness. The distinction being that peace can make company with discomfort. It is freedom from oppressive and unpleasant thoughts/emotions not the absence of them.
I bet myself a good cup of coffee that Joshua was most likely uncomfortable as he marched around that city. He risked looking like a fool for his cause on a daily basis and Jericho, being a fortified superpower, could put a stop to his little parade at any moment. I'm sure unpleasant thoughts marched around his brain at a startling speed and the last thing he found was an inner sense of tranquility. I could be wrong, but I would also bet an even better cup of coffee that Joshua had peace; a God given peace. What's the difference?
A promise.
"No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous! See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with it's king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days...On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound on a long blast, have all the people give a shout; the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in."
[Joshua 1:5-6, 6:2-5]
Talk about a pep talk! I'm sure this was a promise that Joshua clung to day one through six and on the seventh day until the very last man stopped shouting. But what about day one through seven into that final hour? What a spiritual battle it must have been! Raging thoughts of "Are you there God? Will you show up? Are you sure? Seven whole days? Why not two days?!" I would have to assume that he did find freedom from such thoughts as he faithfully obeyed the Lords command and (spoiler alert!) those walls came a tumbling down! I know what I would be repeating in my head if I were him, "Seventh day, seventh day, seventh day!" How did he do it? How did this man faithfully wait on the Lord and accomplish an impossible task? By the peace of the seventh day promise and a rigid trust in the God who gave it to him.
So, how do I keep my peace? I remember the promises I've been given and I cling to them. Like Joshua and the seventh day promise, I cling to a God who has promised and is faithful [Hebrews 10:22-23]. It doesn't feel good. In fact, my peace is in unfortunate company with discomfort and pain on a regular basis but a God given peace surpasses all understanding and provides freedom not a hall pass. It is based on something greater than what is merely possible and to have freedom something must exist to be freed from.
I know what wall I'm walkin around but I don't know what city your marching towards. What I do know, and cling to nearly every minute, is that God made a promise and I will hold on until the seventh day. Letting go and giving up in the last hour would be an unbearable tragedy.
"I am confident of this; I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart, and wait for the Lord."
[Psalm 27:13-14]
"I will wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchman wait of the morning, more than watchman wait for the morning."
[Psalm 130:5-6]
"When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in..."
[Joshua 6:20]
 |
| [Tel Jericho] |
 |
| [Jericho, Israel:The place where the wall used to stand.] |
 |
| [Tel Jericho] |
No comments:
Post a Comment