When it doesn't make sense....

"By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days." Hebrews 11:20

Life has been a little crazy. I have a lot going on and a lot of things have happened that I really don't understand. I've had questions and doubts but thankfully, my God is big enough to handle that whirlwind of thoughts and emotions! While I've been pouring my heart out to Him, He has been faithful to help me change my perspective and to remind of me of several truths that I already know but my weary heart so quickly forgets.

As I did a Bible lesson with my boys today, God taught me as much as He taught them (maybe more!) We learned about Joshua and the crazy battle plan God gave him. My fellas love discussing battle plans so this was right up their alley, that's really why I chose to do this activity with them. God knew, however, that this was exactly what I needed to hear today. 

It may be hard to tell but they made a picture of the city of Jericho and the huge wall that surrounded it. Then they made an army of men with their horns, no weapons, that encircles the city. This craft represents the story of Joshua commanding his men to simply march around the city one time a day for 7 days and on the 7th day they marched around 7 times and then made as much noise as they could. This sounds like a pretty ridiculous battle plan, huh? God said if they did as He commanded, the walls of Jericho would fall. I wonder what these soldiers thought. I bet they wondered if Joshua had lost his marbles. But, even though it didn't make sense to them, they did what they were told. The army proceeded with this battle plan with no weapons, no attack strategies, no back up plans. And you know what? They watched in awe as the walls of Jericho collapsed and then they were able to run into the city and capture it. The battle was the Lord's, huh?

As I shared this story with Dylan and Evan we discussed what they thought about this battle plan. They laughed. They said is sounded silly. They're right, ya know?  There are so many lessons to be learned with this story. We could have gone in so many directions with this lesson....Obedience without questioning. Full obedience the first time. Trusting God. But what stuck out to me was, God's ways do not have to make sense to us. Joshua probably had no clue what God was going to do or how God was going to do it but scripture doesn't say that Joshua doubted God. So, instead of questioning and doubting and pitching a fit or disobeying, Joshua decided to face the battle ahead of him and believe that even though none of this scenario made any sense, God could be trusted.

The death of a life-long friend, dealing with pain or an illness, a loved one having a major surgery, our country's political future, being abused or mistreated, facing financial difficulties, feeling overwhelmed by your to-do list, never having enough time to get things done. etc....These are things that don't always make sense. If we let them, these things can really discourage us and cause inner turmoil. Thankfully, they don't have to though. God has proven over and over again that His ways are not our ways, and we may never understand what He's up to. But that doesn't mean that we need to worry and fret. He is still God, He is still good. He can be trusted and will always use these difficulties for good.

Today I am thankful for these reminders that God has placed in my heart. There is so much freedom in just letting go and believing that even though things don't make much sense to me, God's way is the best way. I am grateful that He has given me so much peace. It doesn't mean that I'm not still sad or a little overwhelmed by the things that are going on in my life, but those things are covered by the peace God has given me. My Father is allowing me to rest in His ability to handle every situation. And honestly sometimes we need to be reminded that God doesn't answer to us. He doesn't have to explain Himself to us. He knows what is best. He knows what we need. He's using these things in ways that we can't even contemplate. He's got this....even when it doesn't make sense to me!