Have you ever had God ask you to do something that seemed absolutely crazy, something that didn’t make sense? I was reading my Bible this morning and came across the familiar story of Joshua 6, where God delivers Jericho right into Joshua’s hands. Read this with me:
1 Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.
2 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”
Can you even imagine what Joshua was thinking? God was asking him, along with his priests and army, to march around a city wall, silently, for six days. What?!? I am sure the plan seemed as nuts to them as it does to us. But isn’t that how He works, sometimes? God’s instructions often fly in the face of conventional wisdom because He is looking for an act of faith from us. When we are obedient, He can follow with a supernatural demonstration of power. See what God did in Jericho on the seventh day? He brought down a walled city, not with dynamite or bulldozers, but with musical instruments!!!
The walls of Jericho would not have fallen had Joshua not been obedient. God doesn’t always work in ways that we would expect. He is able to do above and beyond what we can think or even imagine. He is a mighty God. So, when God asks us to do something that seems crazy, we need to trust that He will deliver on His end. If we choose not to listen, we may miss out on a blessing He has for us. What is God asking you to do that may appear to be a wild or different?
During my older daughter’s freshman year of high school, she was miserable. She had been through a rough time the previous year with a major health issue (that is a story for another day!), and was more than ready for a new start, but was not enjoying school at all. She was active in sports and clubs, still earning straight A’s, but so, so unhappy. My husband and I knew we needed to make a change, but we were unsure what to do. We prayed about it and the Lord told us to place her in a homestudy program through the local high school. I never, ever had considered homeschooling, despite the fact I am a credentialed teacher. It wasn’t as popular as it now is, I didn’t personally know anyone who homeschooled, and people thought we were nuts for even considering this option.
We knew this was what God was asking us to do, yet it seemed so unconventional and “weird.” However, we trusted the Lord, and our daughter began a combination of homeschool and community college courses. She flourished right from the beginning, and we never looked back. Sure, some of our friends were not supportive and couldn’t understand why we were choosing this, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that we were obedient to what God asked us to do and that our daughter was happy. We heard whispers of things people said when we pulled her out of traditional high school, and that was hurtful, but the rewards of obedience overshadowed any pain we felt.
Our daughter conquered high school like a champ, graduated a year early, and went off to university happy and whole. We never regretted that decision. We are so thankful we trusted God when He asked us to do something that didn’t make sense initially to us or others. His ways and plans are always perfect, and so much better than our own. Walls fell for our daughter, just as they did for Joshua. God opened doors and provided awesome opportunities for her, and I shudder to think of how it would have turned out had we not stepped out in faith, or if we had been consumed by what others thought of our decision.
She just finished a Master’s in Public Health program, and we are so proud of her. Clearly, the decisions we made, because of trusting God, worked for her good. We are ever grateful for God’s faithfulness.
If the Lord is asking you to take a leap of faith, to do something that seems unconventional, I urge you to listen and obey. It will be well worth it!
Trusting Him,
Natalie xo
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