The Walls Will Fall: 3 Keys to Hold On in the Fight

Are you going through a difficult season right now? Do you feel tired, worn out, ready to give up? Maybe in your marriage, in a battle of prayer, at work, in your ministry, or in a flaw in your character, you feel like quitting. You are not alone. Even the strongest among us sometimes want to throw in the towel.

In this message drawn from Joshua 6, the conquest of Jericho, David Pothier shares three very practical principles for seeing walls fall in your life. Three keys that will help you hold on in the fight and step into what God has prepared for you.

One thing the book of Joshua teaches us is that entering the promised land does not exempt you from the fight. In the promised land, there is no welcome committee: there are spears, swords, and chariots of war. As Elisabeth Elliot said: "God has not called us to a playground, but to a battlefield."

The Outline of This Message

1. Show Up

2. Be Quiet

3. Do Not Let Go: Persevere

1. Show Up

Verse 2 says: "See, I have given Jericho into your hand." But verse 3 follows immediately: "You shall march around the city." God gives, and yet the people still have to take possession of it. This principle runs throughout the book of Joshua: "This is the land the LORD your God is giving you... he gives it to you, but you must take possession of it."

The battle belongs to the Lord, that's true. But this verse does not exempt you from your responsibility to show up for the fight. God waits for you to show up in order to act. "The battle belongs to the Lord" has become the favorite verse of Christian procrastinators: I sit on my hands, I wait for God to open the doors, but I do nothing.

Israel walked around Jericho for 6 days. One of the reasons is that God wanted them to learn to show up, even when they did not feel like it. There is power in showing up every day for what God asks you to do.

Do you want God to heal your marriage? Show up. Be there in your heart, emotionally, intellectually, not with your face buried in a digital feed. Do you want God to bless your work? Show up at work, stop calling in sick. Do you want to see your children walk in God's ways? Show up. Really be present when you are present.

Do you want to see God move in your finances this year? Show up. Literally cut up the credit card, make a budget, put God first, bring the tithe to the house of the Lord, the firstfruits. Jericho was the first conquest; God said: "You must not touch the plunder of Jericho, it belongs to me." The firstfruits belong to God.

Do you want to grow spiritually, to mature this year? Show up at church. Not out of legalism, but out of decision: I am in the house of the Lord every week, rain or shine, whether I feel like it or not. Many say: "I wasn't doing well, so I didn't come to church." But when you're not doing well, that's exactly when you should come. Bring your dead-tired body to church and watch God work. Show up.

2. Be Quiet

Verse 10 says: "Not a word shall come out of your mouth." Imagine walking around a city for 6 days while its inhabitants mock you, sneer at you, insult you. And God tells them: say nothing. Keep silent.

The people who enter the promised land are people who have learned to keep quiet when they need to keep quiet, and to speak when they need to speak. There are moments when you need to speak, and often we stay silent; there are moments when you need to stay silent, and often we speak. Joshua knew that if the people started talking, they would discourage each other. This generation had not yet learned encouragement, had not yet learned to speak with faith. So when you are not able to speak with faith, be quiet.

Many of us feel a visceral need to voice our opinion about everything, all the time, as if humanity would miss out on something without our wisdom. That's a sign of immaturity. The people who enter the promised land are those who have learned the art of not always having the last word.

David Pothier tells the story of a brilliant theology professor who let a student argue with him wrongly without reacting. A female student asked him why. He answered: "I was practicing the spiritual discipline of not having the last word."

Watch out for people who grumble, who complain about their coworkers, their bosses, the authorities, the government. Watch out for Christians who complain about their brothers, their sisters, the church, their small group, their pastor. It contaminates the heart. James says that whoever does not stumble in what he says is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. We all have a problem with our tongue.

Often, when something happens and we feel hurt, angry, disappointed, we tell ourselves: "I need to talk to someone about it." But it's rare for someone to be able to hear you vent without it becoming an occasion for them to stumble too. You go see someone who loves you, who takes your side, and your venting turns into slander shared between two people. And when you vent to calm down, often it doesn't calm you down, it winds you up even more. It's like opening a door to hell.

Venting is a good thing, but the first person you should vent to is God. Because God will not leave you in your foolishness. God will not take your side when he shouldn't.

3. Do Not Let Go: Perseverance

Angela Duckworth wrote a book called Grit. She wanted to understand why, given equal talent, some people succeed and others don't. Her answer: grit, which is passion plus perseverance toward a long-term goal. In plain terms: dead set on it, come what may. It takes grit, and that's even more true in spiritual things. There are no walls that fall without grit.

David Pothier explains that today he admires less the people who launch big ventures, and more those who persevere: those who are still married 15, 25, 35, 45 years later. It's not the beautiful marriage that impresses him, it's the duration.

Verse 11 says they marched around the city and then returned to camp. The camp, Gilgal, was about 10 km from Jericho. An army marches at 4 km/h at best. Every day meant hours of walking to get to Jericho, about an hour to go around it, then hours to walk back. Routine, monotony, the same thing over and over. And while they were marching, it looked like nothing was happening. But in reality, a lot was happening.

It's not because nothing seems to happen in the visible that nothing is happening in the invisible. It's not because you have the impression that God is doing nothing for you, that he isn't doing something in you. He tests your faith, your obedience, your perseverance. It's easy to persevere when you see progress. Real perseverance is when you see nothing, and you still believe God is working anyway.

We need to learn to persevere in monotony, in the same things again and again. Our era has developed an addiction to novelty: we move from one relationship to another, from one job to another, from one church to another. Thank you, Lord, for newness (the Bible says he makes all things new), but the majority of God's blessings will come in the monotonous, in the ordinary, in perseverance to keep doing what he asked you to do. The same wife, the same husband, the same ministry. You stop when God says stop. Otherwise, keep going.

Hebrews 10:36 says: "For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised." Do you think you've failed? You haven't failed. You stopped before you were finished. It's time to start walking again.

What God Does in You Is Worth More Than What He Does for You

David Pothier shares his own testimony. Coming out of COVID, the church, which had once welcomed 1,500 people, had dropped back to 150. For the first time in his pastorate at La Chapelle, he seriously considered quitting altogether. Two large American churches offered him a role as teaching pastor. He asked God, and God said no. He suggested going back to university. God said no again. The only instruction: "Keep doing what I asked you to do. Be faithful in what I entrusted to you."

During those months, God did a deep work in him. One day, on vacation, he cried for 3 days as he realized the depth of what God had worked in him: less about himself, more about others; less about projects and success, more about accomplishing God's will, whatever it might be. Then God began to rebuild the church, with a new depth. The week before this message, there were more people across the campuses than on an ordinary Sunday outside of Easter and Christmas. 123 water baptisms the previous year, the best year for baptisms yet. The purchase of a first building in Cartierville to plant a new campus, with the grand opening planned for March 22.

If he had let go, he would have missed all of that. Above all, he would have missed what God did in him: "There is nothing God could do for me that I would trade for what he has done in me."

An American pastor preached on Joshua 6 under the title Don't Stop at Six: "Don't stop on day six, don't stop on lap six, because you might be just one lap away from seeing the walls come down." You have worked too hard, prayed too much, bled too much, suffered too much to stop now.

Key Takeaways

• The promised land does not exempt you from the fight: God has called us to a battlefield, not a playground.
• Show up every day for what God asks you to do, even when you don't feel like it.
• Learn to stay quiet when you're not able to speak with faith. Vent to God first.
• God's greatest blessings often come in the monotonous, the ordinary, in perseverance.
• What God does in you is worth more than what he does for you.

Personal Application

• In what area of your life are you tempted to give up right now: marriage, prayer, work, ministry, character, faith?
• Where are you "present without being present"? What needs to change this week for you to truly show up?
• Who do you tend to vent your frustrations to before going to God? What difference would it make if you vented to him first, on your knees?
• What "monotonous" thing is God asking you to keep doing, even if you don't see visible results?
• Might you be just one lap away from seeing a wall fall? What concrete step will you take this week so you don't stop on day six?

Verses Cited

• Joshua 6 · The conquest of Jericho.
• 1 Samuel 17:47 · The battle belongs to the LORD.
• James 3 · Taming the tongue.
• Hebrews 10:36 · You have need of endurance.
• Isaiah 43:19 · I am about to do a new thing.

FAQ

What does it mean to "show up" in the Christian life?

Showing up means being faithful every day in what God asks of you, even when you don't feel like it. It's being there with your heart, not just physically present, in your marriage, at work, at church, in your finances. God waits for your presence in order to act.

Why did God ask the people to stay silent for 6 days around Jericho?

Because this generation had not yet learned to speak with faith. If the people had started talking, they would have discouraged each other, just like their parents did in the wilderness. Joshua knew that silence would protect the mission until the moment came to raise the shout.

How can I persevere when I see no progress?

By remembering that just because nothing seems to happen in the visible doesn't mean nothing is happening in the invisible. God tests your faith, your obedience, and your perseverance, and he is doing a work in you. Hebrews 10:36 promises that those who persevere receive what was promised. Don't stop on day six; you might be just one lap away from seeing the wall fall.