Friday, August 28, 2020

FMF: Loud

When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.
(Joshua 6:5, NIV)

It very well may be the strangest battle strategy of all time: Walk around the city for seven days. On the seventh day, walk around the city seven times, then shout. LOUD.

I find that when God asks me to do things that don't make sense there is usually one reason: it shows that I trust Him.  The faith of these believers was not in their weapons or their leaders' skills as warriors.  It was in God. It's not only about others; it stops me from thinking that I am more than I am.  Sure there would be a celebration that night.  For years when someone pulled out the trumpets they'd remember that time that God did what He did.  They were not boasting in themselves, they were trusting in God.

I feel like I'm walking around a city right now.  I don't know what's inside, but I know this is what God has told me to do.  With nervous excitement, I look forward to the day that God asks me to do something unlike what I've ever done before. On that day, I will walk around the city seven times and give a loud shout.  It won't be a scream of terror, but a proclamation like Philippians 1:6, that God is finishing the work He has begun in me.



This post is a prompt from Five Minute Friday and was written in approximately five minutes. For more information, visit fiveminutefriday.com.

20 comments:

  1. Oh, I like this. thought-provoking. visiting from FMF15

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  2. I've often wondered what the Jerichites (?) thought about the whole business..."Man, these Israelites are WEIRD1"

    I think you hit the vital pint here, of having to ACT in trust. Just 'trusting', passively, often doesn't do much. There has to be a boldness, a demonstration of that peculiar confidence.

    For me, it resonates in blogging; when I started 'journaling' the cancer journey on the blog, I strained my brain trying to figure out ways to get readership, because I really thought I had something worthwhile to say.

    And then spake the LORD: "Just write, you idiot. Leave it to Me to get the message where it needs to go."

    It took an effort to stop checking stats every time I opened Blogger, but once those discipline-muscels were developed, I found a lovely peace.

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    1. And sorry for the typos. It's been a long morning after a longer night.

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    2. Your typos don't bother me in the least! Yes, I hear God telling me more and more to leave it to Him. What do I think I am going to be able to do that He can't? Only make it worse, I suppose.

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    3. Love this, Andrew. It's exactly what I needed to hear--"Just write, and leave it to Me to get the message where it needs to go." I'm copying it on an index card and placing it in plain view.

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  3. What a perfect biblical account to help us imagine LOUD. Thank you!

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  4. I love this different aspect of LOUD! Great story and perfect example for all of us. Thank you, Amie.

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  5. Amie, I love your take on this word, and on this story. You're right, it required the Israelites to trust God as they obeyed in something that must have felt crazy uncomfortable to do. Your analogy to trust God in the uncertain things He asks us to do is spot on. Thanks for this!

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  6. May we trust God implicitly even when he asks us to do the unusual or downright weird. Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Love this Amie! It's such a comfort to know that no matter what God asks us to "march around" we can trust that He knows exactly what He's doing even when we do not!

    Love,
    Annie

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  8. Oh my! Thank you so much for sharing!! I shared about Jesus giving a loud shout, right before he died on the cross. I wonder if there is a correlation there?! #25FMF

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  9. Such a great post. Am saving a copy. Thanks for sharing.

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  10. Oh yes, Stephanie. We are meant years out of VeggieTales but I reference them often - usually to call someone a “fish slapper” or to sing the “Good Morning George” song to my teenage son. He doesn’t love it. Haha.

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  11. I read this on Friday evening - but, apparently, forgot to comment. Still open on my computer - and was blessed (and challenged) again!! Great post -

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  12. Love this piece! Thanks for sharing

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