Humility in His Presence

13 When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?”14 “Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the Lord’s army.” At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?”15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told.

Joshua 5:13-15 (NLT)

                I was thinking about the walls we have in our lives. You see we all have them and everyone’s walls are constructed out of different material and from a different source or cause. The next chapter of Joshua is the fall of Jericho and the collapse of the walls. Yet here we see Joshua confronted by God’s commander of the Lord’s Army. You know sometimes we never know who is really standing before us. We may want to stop and ask the same question Friend or Foe. Understanding that will allow you a place to begin working through the walls that are keeping you from the victory. See the commander did not say he was a friend to Joshua, but that he was in service to the Lord. I often wonder if that is why people are afraid to open up and share with one another. We do not really know if we can trust that other person. In Joshua’s situation he had seen the great works of the Lord and he understood what God had called Him. Yet he also understood his place and without humility and the Lord could turn against him just as he had others during the last 40 years in the desert. This is where we as Christians today often fail. We go before God seeking answers and when they come we refuse to humble ourselves and do what we know is best for us and the situation we are in. I have often wondered if today if God was to show up would we recognize Him. Would we give him the honor and worship He is do.

                Joshua was instructed to remove his sandals because he was in a holy place. How often do we go before God carrying all the mess we pick up on our shoes. I know lots of people who require you to take your shoes off before you walk in their homes. It’s to prevent you from tracking in all sorts of things. It can be humiliating if you have a whole in your sock or if the dogs drag your shoes off while you’re inside (happened to me once). Yet if you want to enter their home you have to take off your shoes that have so much of the world on them. Maybe it’s time we do the same as we seek God’s face. Take off all that the world has laid on you and humbly seek God’s face. I truly believe that had Joshua not obeyed the Commander the walls around Jericho would be standing today. If you want to see the walls come down on your own life and those of the ones you love. It only can happen as you humble yourself and allow God His rightful place in your life. Have a blessed day and may you allow God to tear down the walls your facing.