Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days
- Joshua 6:2-3

This week we’ll be studying the unusual story of the fall of Jericho. The Lord gives directions to his people, they obey, and the walls of Jericho come tumbling down. The first six chapters of the book of Joshua build up to this.

In today’s passage we see an interesting juxtaposition. On the one hand, we hear the Lord say: “I have delivered Jericho into your hands.” Even though the walls were still standing at this point in the story, from the Lord’s perspective this thing is already done. When the Lord commits to act, he acts.

On the other hand, we hear the Lord command: “March around the city …”. Even though the victory is secure and even though the victory is going to decisively come from the Lord, there’s work for the people to do.

We often find ourselves in a similar situation. God’s promises hang like banners over our lives. We know he’ll be faithful to keep them. We trust him and have confidence that he’ll do what he said he will do. And yet there’s still work for us to do.

God invites us to join him as participants in his incredible mission. Because it’s his mission, it won’t always look the way we expect it to or the way it would if we were in charge. But we’re invited to join him anyways.

How do you respond to this combination: God’s promises to act and his invitation to join him? Which side of the coin do you find easier to believe?