The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city! When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city.
- Joshua 6:16 and 20

It worked. The crazy, insane, strange plan of God worked. (Of course it did.) But can you believe it? The Israelites marched around the city. The trumpets sounded. They gave a shout. And the walls fell down.

The wild ways of God work. They don’t always work in the ways we expect them to or in the timing we’d desire. God’s not a vending machine. But when we engage in life the way God desires us to, when we follow him, this way of life tends to produce good outcomes. Why is that?

The blessed life we experience when we obey God is actually the by-product of something else. Let’s circle around to take a look at it.

God’s desire for us is that we would love him and be with him forever. He knows us and loves us anyways: fully, completely, all encompassingly. He wants us to be with him where he is. That’s why he made us. That’s why he rescued us from our bondage to sin. That’s why he’s invited us to join him in his mission. He wants us to be with him.

And God is the source of every good and perfect gift. He showers the world with blessings. He fills us with joy and peace. In his presence we have light and life.

We experience blessings in our lives when we’re walking in step with God because he’s the source of every good and perfect blessing. Go looking for the blessed life and you won’t find it. Go looking for God and you find him … and the blessed life as well.

What can you do today to draw near to God? Can you set aside a few extra minutes to pray or to listen to worship music? Can you spend some time reading about him in the Bible? Can you go on a walk with him through your neighborhood? Whatever you can do, do it. There’s nothing better than being close to God.