March On!!!

As i thumbed through the Children's Bible that we try to read to our boys at night, one of the stories that I saw prompted a song that many of us who were raised in the church may well know. The song is "Joshua won the battle of Jericho". As is typical in my brain, I immediately question the verity of this song. Did Joshua really win the battle? I know it may seem silly to question the absolute Biblical accuracy of a Sunday School song, and for those supporters of that song, my argument is not with you or with the song. What strikes me from that story is that tens of thousands of Israelites believed enough in their God that after spending 40 years wandering the desert, they still chose to walk around a city that was about one mile around thirteen times. Imagine the mockery they received from the citizens of Jericho. I imagine a little dragging of the feet and grumbling as the people of Israel entered day seven and realized that they had to not only walk around the city 7 times, but they had to scream and shout like fools at the end of their 7 mile journey. Talk about faith. At times in my life, I confess that my faith pales in comparison to the children of Israel. Maybe I am skipping all of the marching and trying to go straight to the trumpet blowing, hoping that God will move miraculously and cause the walls of sin, unemployment, anger, resentment, selfishness, and depression to crumble around me, giving me victory. There is no doubt that God can and does work in this way, but for me, something is missing from this equation. Where is my role being played out. Am I seeking truth? Am I searching for the right path? Am I immersing myself in what is God's? Am I marching around the walls, doing my best to remain within the will of God? I am much better at dragging my feet in the dusty desert, wondering when things will change. Maybe it is time for me to get my March on! Maybe it is time to make a tangible move toward the things of God. Take a positive lesson lesson from the children of Israel and march on, good soldier, march on!