Hope RisesSample

Yesterday we read about the beginning of the Israelites' journey away from Egypt. Now free from captivity, they had no place to go. God had promised them land, but it wasn’t empty. They would have to fight for it, drive the current people of the land out, and claim what God was giving them.

That conquest of this new land begins in Joshua 1. God tells Joshua “it’s time,” and the first stop in conquering these new lands was Jericho. Jericho was a massive city with large fortified walls and a stout army that was well-armed. If you were an Israelite and you’d heard that God told you to take over Jericho, you probably would have thought, “how?!” Compared to Jericho they had almost no resources or soldiers. From a strategic standpoint it was a hopeless matchup for the Israelites.

In Joshua 2, some spies go to check out the city of Jericho and look for vulnerabilities they can use to give them an advantage. While in the city, these spies come close to being discovered and captured, but Rahab (a resident of Jericho) covers for them. Hebrews 11:31 describes this as an act of faith on Rahab’s part: She had hope that God would protect her as she had protected these spies, and God came through for her (Joshua 6:23)!

God also helped Israel win the battle against Jericho. If you read Joshua 6 you can see the full story, but it ends when “the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it.” (6:20)

Intimidation can be a key reason we lose hope. We can be faced with lots of things in life that feel like they are too big, too challenging, or completely insurmountable. When faced with intimidating challenges over a period of time, it can even feel like we will never know life without those challenges.

In those moments this story can serve as a great inspiration. Jericho was an intimidating city. Its walls were massive. But God has a way of un-intimidating the intimidating. He crushed those walls in an instant, and the people were able to run in with ease and take the city.

God is still capable of acting in big ways on our behalf. In your life, what are some intimidating things you’re trying to overcome? Trust God to give you hope to overcome those things!