Growing up, I remember learning a song that goes something like this: "Joshua fought the battle of Jericho. Jericho. Jericho. Joshua fought the battle of Jericho and the walls came tumbling down." The city of Jericho was surrounded by high walls that the Israelites could not penetrate. These walls were built for protection against the enemies of the city or potential invaders. Surely the people must've known that one day their walls would fall down. Surely they knew God was powerful enough to crumble the foundation of their city. Surely they knew that they would one day have to let their guard down and share their land with other people. Nope, I don't think that's how it went. I believe, in my own interpretation, the 'giants' of Jericho were very confident in their ability to protect their city and in the strength of their walls. They probably didn't have the slightest idea that a group of Israelites could cause their walls to crumble...just by singing, marching, and blowing a trumpet. How crazy does that sound? However, it was possible and God did cause the walls of Jericho to fall down. He only wanted what was best for His people and that's why He gave them the courage to face their enemies head on. You see, on the other side of those walls was the land God had promised His people. The Israelites trusted God enough to obey His commandments. They didn't want anything standing in the way of them and the promise.
In our lives, we build up walls to protect ourselves against enemies and potential invaders just like the people of Jericho did. What we fail to recognize is that, at some point, the strength of our walls is going to be challenged by an all-powerful God. He doesn't want us to live in isolation and become overly confident in our ability to protect ourselves. Sometimes walls fall down. It's not going to be a pretty picture and it may not happen in a single day, but I still believe God wants what is best for us. Walls are a great defense, but they are not always a healthy way to deal with situations in our lives. When you build up walls, you are saying that you want to deal with your problems entirely on your own. That might work for some people, but when you know there is a God in Heaven who cares for you, there's no reason to bear your burdens alone. Sure, building up walls will help you overcome feelings of anger, bitterness, and possibly anxiety. Sure, walls make you feel strong and confident. Sure, building up walls can become a distraction to the winds that beat against your city. But that doesn't mean walls are going to keep everything and everyone out. Absolutely not. Building up walls creates distance between people and that's all that separated the Israelites from God's promise. Maybe our walls are the only thing keeping us from reaching the full potential we have and the blessings God wants to pour out on us. In that case, our walls need to fall down.
I understand why we want to build our walls: It helps us feel like we are in control. We don't want to allow things we have been hurt by to creep back into our lives. I get it and trust me, I've been there. We build up walls so high that no 'Israelites' can enter. We think building up walls will make it seem like we have it all together and that we aren't hurting. Maybe it will make us appear stronger. But inside those walls, we are hurting. Broken. Afraid. Unwilling to venture outside or allow anyone else to come inside.
Friend, God won't take your walls by force. He didn't command Joshua and all the Israelites to grab pick axes and begin chipping away at the wall. Although they probably didn't have one, he didn't order them to drive the bulldozer into the side of the wall and begin moving the rocks out of the way. Instead, God told Joshua to have the Israelites march around the walls of Jericho for seven days. On the seventh day, they marched around seven times, singing and praising God. Then the priests blew their ram's horn and the walls fell down. Literally out of nowhere. Except we know that force came from God Himself. He didn't actually need the Israelites to march around the walls of Jericho in order to make them fall down. The only reason He did that was to build their faith and prove that their obedience to Him would bring blessings. He wanted to tear down the wall that separated them from the promised land.
In our own lives, God is not going to come wielding a pick axe or bulldoze our walls down. Instead, He is going to whisper in love what He wants us to do. Then He will use our faith and obedience to make the walls fall down. He cannot fulfill His promises when we are unwilling to allow Him inside our walls. Our victory is on the other side of the walls we have built to shut people out, even God. Our high and mighty walls signify control; they tell people to KEEP OUT. God gets the same message and He knows you're trying to take control. Sometimes you just have to give up and let Jesus take over. God won't do anything out of spite. Walls fall down because God sees what is best for us and He loves us enough to break down the barrier standing in the way of His promise. Our walls fall down, but God will fight for us. We don't have to face our enemies/giants on our own.