When the Walls Fall

The city of Jericho was an impossible obstacle. Its walls were thick, its gates were shut, and the people inside were prepared for Israel’s approach. From a human standpoint, there was no way Israel could win. But God had already declared the victory: “See, I have given Jericho into your hand” (Joshua 6:2).

The instructions God gave didn’t sound like military strategy. Israel was to march silently around the city once a day for six days, and on the seventh day, circle it seven times before shouting. No battering rams. No siege towers. Just faith and obedience.

On the seventh day, as the trumpets sounded and the people shouted, the walls fell flat. God kept His word.

The lesson for us today is clear: God’s power is not limited by what seems “impossible” to us. In the church, we can sometimes look at the challenges before us—declining attendance, growing sin in society, strained relationships—and feel like we’re staring at the walls of Jericho. We may be tempted to rely solely on our own methods, programs, or clever ideas to bring those walls down.

But the real victory comes when we trust God enough to follow His word, even when it doesn’t seem to make sense to the world. The New Testament reminds us that “the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful” (2 Corinthians 10:4). Faithful teaching, prayer, steadfast love, and unity in Christ may not look “strategic” to the world, but they are God’s plan for His people.

When the church humbly obeys God’s commands, even in the face of overwhelming odds, the walls that stand against truth and righteousness can—and will—fall.

Our part is not to engineer the miracle, but to march in faith. God still brings the victory.

Mason MacDonald