The Madness to the Method
Here God basically upends the whole conventional idea of how to wage war:
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 all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in.”
Joshua 6:2-5 (NIV)
As a music guy, I like the idea of the musicians being the ones who do the damage, but I’m sure any soldier would tell you that this plan just isn’t the way to wage war.
The cool thing is…God doesn’t care about the conventional way of doing anything. There is a madness to the method because God wants to show that He is in control. It’s never about man’s strength or about strategic planning…it’s about Him doing the heavy lifting and being the source of victory.
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
1 Corinthians 1:27 (NIV)
In what ways do we make it about us and our plans and don’t leave room for God to work? I know I’m bad to take the wheel and aim for success by my own strength and on my own terms. When I do, it’s a recipe for failure. (I’ve written about this so much: blog posts…journals…songs…you’d think I’d learn one of these days.)
On the other hand, in what ways do we let go and allow Him to fight and win the battle — and get the glory for it? When I allow Him to have control, it’s a success beyond a shadow of a doubt, even when it goes totally against the world’s standards. Often especially when it goes totally against the world’s standards.
Photo by Valdemaras D. on Unsplash