There's a Wall There...

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to preach about the Walls of Jericho and the 1st city the Children of Israel were to conquer under Joshua's command. It is a great story and what I like about it is that it has the plan passed down to Joshua with a promise and then communicated through the rest of the people so everyone knew what was going on, what the outcome would be and what was their part in the process. It is a great story of biblical leadership and how leaders can keep their people focused and engaged in the process. As I leader, communication is needed but I know I leave details out. I am working very hard to communicating detailed information about who we are, where we are headed and what God has been telling me. Regardless of how things play out, we all face "the wall."

The first wall is the YOU/ME Wall. This is the wall of getting over ourselves. Yep, we can be very selfish and self centered leaving us a monumental wall to conquer. We allow doubt about ourselves to keep us from moving forward. We doubt plans, God, our abilities...you name it we have the capacity to doubt it. We also deal with our failures and never feel we are good enough or measure up. Then we can sometimes wallow around in disappointment. Things don't go the way we want them to so we become one big sucky baby (warning: Canadian Term). Pat Burns passed away this week after a long fight with cancer. He coached the Canadians, Leafs and Devils in his professional career and brought them all to victory. He had more wins than losses in his entire career. At the end of his life and tribute this past Saturday, he said, "Don't be sorry for me, I have had a good life." What strength, right?! He also told his children not to be sad because something ends but be proud of the fact that you were able to be a part of it.

The second wall is the RELATIONSHIP Wall. There is a lot here for this wall but with God's power, you can overcome. Too many times we guard ourselves because of fear. We simply become too afraid of new relationships, meeting others or witnessing. We fear rejection, intimidation and risk of getting too close to others. We fear that others may come to know too much about us and not like us. This fear causes us to not trust and put walls up to protect from times we may have become too close and gotten hurt by someone else. The relationship wall is a tough one!

The third and final wall is the GOD Wall. This one may take years to tear down. We live in a world that examines everything by experiences, attitudes or cause and effect. The problem with that is that God is bigger! He is bigger than my circumstances, my abilities and He requires my faith to make the walls crumble. Too many times we are eager to believe things about God based on our own human experiences and He never fits. He never will fit! Let this wall come down and experience how awesome and great He is. If we can do that, show faith and follow without growing weary, we will reap and see great and mighty things!

There is a wall there...are you conquering it?