The Walls Came Tumbling Down

Hello Friends,

Well, the first day of school is just around the corner…. The next time we meet, it will be the Sunday before the first day of school. Are you ready? Do you have all your school supplies bought, labelled, and put in your backpack? Do you have your schedules memorized? Do you know when the school bus is picking you up in the morning or when your mom or dad is dropping you off and picking you up from school? Are you ready for school to start again?

When I was your age, I was both excited and nervous for the start of school. I wanted to see my friends again, but I didn’t want summer to end. I was ready to learn new things, but scared that I wasn’t going to be able to learn what I needed to learn. I was nervous for the uncertainty that came with each day. From now until the first day of school, take some time to enjoy summer but also take some time to pray to Jesus asking that he be with you at the start of this new school year. (I know I will be!)

Today, I want to tell you a story from Kevin DeYoung’s book titled The Biggest Story Bible Storybook. The story I want to share with you involves a man named Joshua and a town named Jericho–which is supposedly the oldest city to be excavated and studied, some 11,000 years old. In this story we are reminded that no walls are too big nor too strong for God to tear down. As a youngster, my siblings were always finding ways to tear down the structures that I built unless I hid them. I got really angry with them; but maybe they were teaching me a life lesson–a lesson that in life, God will tear down our walls to help us draw nearer to Jesus Christ. How are you finding ways to draw nearer to Jesus?

Listen to this story about Joshua fighting the battle of Jericho so that the walls will come tumbling down…

“The time had come for the Israelites to enter the Promised Land. The wandering in the wilderness was finally over. Joshua was now in charge. New spies had looked over Jericho. The people had crossed over the Jordan River. There was only one thing standing in the way of the Israelites entering the Promised Land: some mighty warriors guarding a mighty city behind some mighty big walls.

“Now what?

“The Israelites couldn’t dig under the city. Joshua didn’t have any tanks because they weren’t invented yet. And there weren’t any kangaroos in Canaan to jump over the walls. But God’s people had something much more important. They had God on their side. So God gave Joshua one of those crazy plans that works only if it’s God’s plan. Like so many other times in their history, God would fight for Israel, but Israel had to trust God to do exactly what he told them to do.

“Step One: Get all your soldiers together and march around the city while seven priests carry seven trumpets.

Step Two: Do the same thing the next day.

Step Three: Do it again on the third day.

Step Four: Do it again.

Step Five: Yup, march around the city again (and don’t forget the trumpets).

Step Six: One more time around the city.

“Okay, so the Israelites put on a parade for six days. What were the people of Jericho supposed to do? Throw candy at them? Well, on the seventh day things would be a little different. This time they would march around the city seven times. At first only the trumpets would sound: no one was to whisper a word. But, when Joshua gave the signal, all the people would shout with great big outside voices!

“And do you know what happened next? Did God send more plagues? Or a flood? Or a flaming kangaroos? Nope. After all the marching and all the trumpets blasting and all the shouting, the mighty walls of the city fell down flat. Just like that: the walls came tumbling down and piles of rubble were everywhere.

“Then Israel walked right into Jericho like they owned the place. And soon they did. God gave their enemies into their hands, and they conquered the city with the help of a noisy parade. God had kept his promise. Now the people had to keep theirs.”

With school just around the corner, I’m sure you have created some “walls” in your life because you won’t know everyone, you won’t know everything about the schedules, you won’t remember everything that you are taught, and you probably won’t enjoy everything that you are told to do. But in those moments, remember that God is marching with you, just like he was marching with Joshua as he marched around Jericho. God will help you tear down those walls so that you can feel free and be yourself…and shout with your outside voice because you did it!

So what do you say: Are you going to start school with “walls” in your life? Or are you going to start school remembering that God is marching with you? May God continue to do amazing things in your life, and may He continue to tear down many walls in your life as He marches with you. Amen.

Your Friend, Holy Spirit!