It's Not Time to Give Up: Jericho and Perseverance at the Sixth Lap

Introduction

There are seasons when you pray, you obey, you make sacrifices, you say no to certain things to say yes to God, and yet nothing moves. You are being faithful to what God asked of you, but you feel like you're hitting walls. Maybe this morning, in your mind, you feel like giving up. On a marriage that isn't moving forward, on waiting for a child, on a calling, on a conviction that's starting to crumble.

In his message "It's Not Time to Give Up," Jasmin-Pier Bienvenue draws on the story of Joshua and the capture of Jericho (Joshua 6) to speak to those who are exactly at that point: the sixth lap. The lap where the walls are still standing, where there is no visible sign that anything is going to change, where the temptation is to let go of everything just before God acts.

Here is the essence of what this sermon tells you, and why now is not the time to give up.

Outline of the Message

1. Joshua 6: A Plan That Seems Absurd

Joshua picks up where Moses left the people. He must lead Israel into the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a promise none of them saw fulfilled in their lifetime. And the very first city to conquer is Jericho. Not a minor city: a fortress, two walls, a complete defense system, a city known to be impregnable. In the military logic of the time, if Jericho falls, every other city falls with it.

Joshua is not a poet or a philosopher. He is a military man, the commander of Israel's armies. He knows the strategies for taking a city like that. And God tells him: here is my plan. You will march around the city once a day for six days. On the seventh day, you will march around it seven times, the priests will sound the trumpets, the people will shout a great shout, and the walls will collapse on the spot.

No ladder, no raised sword, no arrows. Just marching, with trumpets, around a fortress. Militarily, it's absurd. And humanly, it's humiliating.

2. The Real Problem Is the Sixth Lap

One detail stands out in the text: Joshua never told his army how long it would take. The soldiers didn't know whether it would be a week, a month, or longer.

And that's exactly where many of us find ourselves. You have a promise, God asked something of you, you're walking, but you don't know how long it will take to arrive.

On the first lap, there's the adrenaline of starting out. On the second, it's still fine, it's a warm up. On the third, you start wondering whether it's worth it. On the fourth, you look up to heaven. On the fifth, doubt sets in: "Maybe I didn't do something right. Maybe there's a sin in my heart blocking the promise." And on the sixth lap, the walls are still standing. You obeyed, you marched, you were faithful. No sign. No result. Nothing.

The real battle of Jericho isn't fought against Jericho. It's fought in your heart. And it's at the sixth lap that the questions arrive: "Did I really hear God? Does this even matter? How much longer?"

3. Looking at the Wall or Looking at the Promise

In Joshua 6, verse 1, the city is shut up, barricaded, every wall is in place: everything is set up so that it won't work. In verse 2, God tells Joshua: "I have delivered Jericho into your hand." Not "I will deliver it to you one day," but "I have delivered it to you." In God's eyes, the city already belongs to you.

Two verses, two completely different realities. And Joshua has to choose which one he sets his eyes on.

Hebrews 11:1 says it: "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Whatever promise God has given you, you will have to choose. Do you look at the reality you see every day, or do you look with the eyes of faith at what God has promised? Faith keeps walking even when it sees nothing, not because it ignores reality, but because it chooses to trust the eyes of God, who sees better.

4. Your Mouth Will Feed Your Faith or Destroy It

Even before the first lap, Joshua gives the people a strange instruction: "You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word go out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout." (Joshua 6:10) Why this silence?

Because Joshua remembers Numbers 13. Moses sends twelve spies into the promised land. They all see the same thing: a strong land, giants, fortified cities. Ten come back saying "we will never make it." Only Joshua and Caleb say "yes, it's hard, but God is with us, we can move forward." The words of the ten influenced the whole people. The people chose to give up, and an entire generation never entered the promised land.

Joshua doesn't want to live through that again. He knows something deep: in seasons where you don't see anything yet, your mouth will either feed your faith or destroy it. Proverbs says there is power of life and death in our tongue. You can keep praying outwardly while giving up inwardly. You can keep walking around the walls while telling yourself "it's no use anyway." There's a difference between honestly describing what you're going through so you can be helped, and continually repeating words that push you to let go.

5. Jesus Completed the Seventh Lap in Your Place

The story of Jericho points to something greater. God gives the people a promise: the Savior, the King of kings. And the process is absurd. Jesus doesn't appear as a glorious king but as a baby in a stable. Then thirty years of silence in Nazareth, with a hammer and nails. No sign that he is the King of kings.

Three years of ministry, then Judas betrays him, Peter denies him, the religious system condemns him. On Good Friday, they nail him to a cross. He cries out: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" He experiences total abandonment. On Saturday, complete silence. No sign of progress. For the disciples, it was literally the sixth lap.

But on Sunday morning, Peter runs to the tomb. The stone is rolled away. The tomb is empty. The walls have just fallen. Jesus has completed the seventh lap.

What you deserved (the rupture, the condemnation, the silence of God), Jesus took in your place. And what Jesus deserved (the Father's love, the relationship, the life) is offered to you. It's from this received love that you can persevere until your own seventh lap, in your marriage, in a forgiveness you need to give, in a calling that seems to lead nowhere. The strength doesn't come from you. It is given to you.

Key Takeaways

• God did not give you a calendar. Joshua never told his army how many laps it would take. Your wait is not a sign that God got it wrong.
• The real battle happens at the sixth lap, not at Jericho. It's not the walls that are the real problem, it's what's happening in your heart while you go around them.
• Two realities are offered to you. The wall you see, or the promise God is already speaking of as accomplished. You will have to choose where to set your eyes.
• Your mouth builds or destroys your faith. You can obey outwardly while giving up inwardly through what you keep repeating.
• Jesus has already completed the seventh lap. The strength to persevere doesn't come from you, it's given to you by the One who is risen.

Personal Application

1. In what area of your life are you currently at the "sixth lap"? A marriage, waiting for a child, a calling, a relationship to repair, a conviction that's crumbling?
2. What concrete promise has God given you in that area? Go back to the moment you received it.
3. When you look at your situation, what does the "wall" look like to you? And what does the promise look like? Which of the two do your eyes fall on most often?
4. Listen to what comes out of your mouth this week about this situation. Are your words feeding your faith, or quietly destroying it?
5. Who can you ask to pray with you to hold on until the seventh lap? No one is called to walk alone around the walls.

Verses Cited

• Joshua 6 · The capture of Jericho
• Joshua 6:10 · The instruction of silence
• Hebrews 11:1 · Faith as the assurance of things hoped for
• Numbers 13 · The twelve spies
• Proverbs 18:21 · The power of life and death in the tongue

FAQ

Why does God wait until the seventh lap to act?

Because God is not only interested in the result, he is interested in what he wants to build in you during the process. The absurd march around the walls exposes faith and prevents anyone from taking credit for the victory. When the walls fall, it's clear it came from him.

How can I know if I really heard God, or if I'm holding on to something he never asked of me?

Doubt at the sixth lap is normal. Jasmin-Pier himself says he went through it when he didn't know where God was sending him after leaving Sherbrooke. The question to ask yourself isn't "how much longer?" but "where am I setting my eyes?" Return to the original conviction, to what God clearly told you, and have it confirmed by trusted brothers and sisters.

What should I do when I'm too exhausted to keep believing?

Don't stay alone. The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you if you have placed your faith in him, and the strength to persevere is given to you, it doesn't come from your own abilities. Ask your church, your brothers and sisters, to pray for you. This isn't a sign of spiritual weakness, it's how the body of Christ is meant to function.