David Diga Hernandez - The Power of a Sudden Miracle

You might find yourself in an impossible situation right now, but the good news is this: an impossible situation is the perfect setting for a miracle. If where you’re going doesn’t require faith, then you’re not heading toward your destiny. You might be facing a difficult season; you might be confronting sickness, financial hardship, or perhaps certain relationships are in turmoil. Maybe you’re believing for an unsaved loved one to come to Christ, and they only seem to be becoming more and more stubborn. I know what it’s like to wonder where God is. I know what it’s like to be waiting on a miracle. I know what it’s like to be pressed up against the wall, having taken that last step, and it seems like there’s nowhere else to go. Here’s my encouragement to you: God makes a way where there seems to be no way. God is still a miracle-working God. He is able to do more than we can think. He is able to do more than we can request. To drive this point home, I want to take a look at a very popular portion of Scripture; this is found in Joshua chapter 6. Let’s go there now.

Now, the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go in or go out. But the Lord said to Joshua, «I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors. You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. Seven priests will walk around ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day, you are to march around the town seven times with the priests blowing the horns. When you hear the priests give one long blast on the ram’s horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.»

Now, here we see that God has promised the Israelites the land; it’s theirs for the taking. But standing before them is the obstruction of these mighty walls. The walls were tightly shut. The people who were afraid of the Israelites had locked themselves in; no one was going in or out. So here, the Israelites come to where the promises of God are right within their possession, yet something is blocking them. God says, «That’s your land.» God says, «You can have it.» God says, «I’m going to give it to you.» But the walls say something different. The walls say, «This is where it stops.» The walls say, «You can’t go beyond this point.» The walls say, «What’s beyond this point does not belong to you.»

Now, the Israelites were unable to go through, so God gives them these instructions, and these instructions were quite odd. You know, whenever you find yourself spiritually stagnant, whenever you find yourself stuck in life, one of the best ways to become unstuck, one of the best ways to move through a stubborn barrier, is to simply act out in faith. The step of faith has the power to move you beyond the point of frustration. The step of faith has the power to remove stubborn barriers, to take away all hindrances, and to loose the chains of bondage. God wants you to take a step of faith when you come up against that wall; when you’re pressed up against that hardship; when you’re looking around and there seems to be nowhere else to go. That is when God will speak; that is when God’s word comes to life; that is when your faith is tested.

So, God gives them these instructions. These instructions seem odd. He didn’t give them armies; He asked them for faith. God doesn’t give us what we imagine we need. God doesn’t always give us what we think we deserve. God doesn’t always give us the resources in a way that we think they will come. God works in a way that is contrary to how we would do things. That’s why He’s God. God does not conform to our patterns; God does not conform to our way of thinking. God’s ways are higher than our ways; God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts. And though we may come up against this situation and ask God for the things we think we need, God will often send us something else. So again, I emphasize, God does not always give us what we imagine we need; instead, He asks us for faith.

Continuing now with verse number six, so Joshua called together the priests and said, «Take up the Ark of the Lord’s covenant and assign seven priests to walk in front of it, each carrying a ram’s horn.» Then he gave orders to the people: «March around the town, and the armed men will lead the way in front of the Ark of the Lord.» After Joshua spoke to the people, the seven priests with the ram’s horns started marching in the presence of the Lord, blowing the horns as they marched, and the Ark of the Lord’s covenant followed behind them. Some of the armed men marched in front of the priests with the horns, and some behind the Ark, with the priests continually blowing the horns.

So Joshua here has given them the instructions. Verse 10: this is a very key instruction. He tells them, «Do not shout; do not even talk,» Joshua commanded. «Not a single word from any of you until I tell you to shout. Then shout!» Don’t shout until I tell you to shout. Not a single word; don’t say anything; just do what you’ve been told to do. How many times do we try to make things happen in our own power, by our own strength? How many times do we come up against…