Purpose in the waiting

I just want to let you guys in on something. For years now, I have been in a season of waiting. I don’t want to say it has been “hard ,” but I will say it has been a test of my faith—if I’m being honest with you. Constantly believing for something when you see absolutely no movement is difficult.

Today, while spending time with the Lord and talking to Him about what I’ve been waiting for, the Lord took me to Joshua, chapters 5 and 6, to read about Jericho. At first, I didn’t really understand how that was going to have any relevance to my life—until I read it and began writing this entry for the blog.

When we look at Joshua, we see that the Lord had given him a promise: the city of Jericho. Now, the people of the city had tightly shut it off so no one could enter or exit. This meant that the promise the Lord gave Joshua was going to take some time. That’s when I really began to see how this story was, in fact, relevant to my life. It’s almost like the Lord knows what He’s doing or something.

Joshua was told by the Lord that he was given Jericho—not only the city, but also the king and all of Jericho’s strongest warriors. Then he was instructed on what to do in order to see the promise fulfilled. The Lord told him to march around the walls of Jericho for seven days. For the first six days, they were only instructed to march around the city once. However, on the seventh day, they were told to march around the town seven times! So if we count that up, that’s thirteen times he had to march before the promise came to pass.

If we remember the fact that Joshua was an actual person, I can only imagine that after he knew for sure he heard the voice of the Lord, he was filled with excitement and zeal, ready to do this thing. But maybe, after the third or fourth day of doing the same repetitive task, I just wonder—did doubt begin to sink in? Did he wonder if the victory was actually going to come, or if the “waiting” season was ever going to end? Even though he knew he heard from the Lord and knew he wouldn’t see the promise until the seventh day, I can’t help but wonder—because he was, in fact, human.

I feel like there are so many of us in our own waiting seasons, waiting for the walls of Jericho to fall. Whether it’s waiting on your miracle baby, your dream home, or for your singleness to finally end, I want to encourage you, friends: the seventh day does come, and the promise that God has given you is, in fact, yours. You will see the victory. And when it comes, just as the Israelites released a shout—release yours!

Remember, there is purpose in the waiting, even if we do not understand it.