Elevation Worship’s lyrics “Walking around these walls, I thought by now they’d fall” (from the song Do It Again), always reminds me of the story of Jericho. Recorded in Joshua 6:2, God tells the Israelites to march around the fortified walls of the city once a day, for six straight days, in complete silence. Then, on day seven, the Lap pattern changed. Instead of marching just once, the Lord instructed them to circle the city seven times, the first six silently. On the seventh and final Lap, however, the Israelites were given the green light to make as much noise as possible. At their unified shout, the reinforced walls fell. Open and defenseless, the city quickly slipped into the hands of the Israelites.

Those Laps are my visual of what I call the Waiting Season – that seemly Frozen Period of Time – where we continually circle Our Walled Jericho, petitioning God to bring an answer to our One fervently-repeated prayer. The Bible is filled with such examples – the story of Abraham and Sarah is just one of them.

At the age of 75, Abraham received a promise from God that he’d be the father of many nations. The problem? His wife, Sarah, hadn’t born him any children. Obviously passed their prime childbearing years, but believing God’s promise, Abraham and Sarah waited. And they waited. And waited longer still. They waited and waited and waited.

But after nearly 10 years had passed, seeing absolutely no movement by God in this area, Sarah allowed her frustration to open the Bad Decision-Making Door. And in this mode, Sarah voices her Solution – she tells Abraham to sleep with her Egyptian servant, Hagar, saying, “it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” (Genesis 16:2) Abraham did as Sarah said; he slept with Hagar. Hagar became pregnant and bore Abraham a son, naming him Ishmael. At 86, parenthood had finally arrived, but ONLY to Abraham; Sarah was not part of it. This one decision created chaos and disorder. What was expected to unify only brought division, quickly consuming Sarah with Buyer’s Remorse. Pitted against one another, Hagar and Sarah quickly dove down into the depths of Baby Mama Drama.

Yet God had not forgotten His promise. When Ishmael was about 14, Sarah finally conceived, and at the age of 90, bore a son, named Isaac. Abraham, now 100 years old, held what God had promised nearly 25 years earlier – a son through which the nations would come. The Promise Maker showed that He’s also a Promise Keeper.

We get frustrated because our timeline never matches His. We are in a hurry. He is not. This is compounded by how we view the Waiting Season – we often see it as Wasted Time – Futile rather than Fruitful – Pointless rather than Powerful. The Waiting Season teaches us what no other Time Span can – it stretches us, producing change and maturity.

Last Lap Syndrome enticed Abraham and Sarah to “solve” their dilemma by stepping into God’s shoes and bringing about the answer in their own power. But despite Abraham and Sarah’s faith-less-ness, God remained faithful – He delivered exactly what He promised. That alone should give us hope – it’s evidence that even Wrecking Ball Decisions cannot derail the promises of Almighty God.

The Promise Maker is, and will always be, a Promise Keeper. What God promises will come to pass. Don’t give up. Keep circling your Walled Jericho. Your Deliverer is counting your Laps and He will crush those walls at the perfect moment. Hang in there. God’s never late. God’s never early, either. He is, however, always right on time.

Current Culture has become increasingly hostile to the idea of going Through nearly all forms of Hardship. This has fueled the misconception that in Tough Times, we should take the first exit off the Hard Highway. As the view of Struggling continues to be devalued, it’s become more popular to point the finger, rather than take a pointed look at ourselves. But the Storms of Life do have value — they ignite maturity, breaking off the things which Hinder us. Repeatedly skipping the Storms by constantly taking Detours around what’s Difficult only serves to stagnate our growth; we end up more focused on what’s wrong with others, rather than what’s wrong with us.

Although, at times, we may be pitted against a person or a particular group of people, we have to look Beyond them because our Greatest Opponent isn’t physical — its spiritual.

The Bible plainly tells us that Satan is our enemy. While we may easily see the manifestation of the devil’s Lies in others, we are often Blinded to the ones WE house in our hearts. Scripture describes the devil as roaming to and fro, searching for Open Minds in which to plant Weeds of Anger, Dejection, Disappointment, Despair, Disillusionment, Discouragement and Resentment.

Although not built of stone or brick, a spiritual Fortress is similar in design to a medieval castle. But instead of safeguarding people, a spiritual Fortress protects Lies, which it will defend against attack at all costs. Belief drives Behavior, so if we take Satan’s Lies to heart, then the devil becomes the one we listen to …. submit to … and follow. The more Lies we ingest, the quicker we spiral downward into his Dark Dungeons of Unforgiveness, Co-Dependency, Anxiety, Fear, Doubt, Depression, Bitterness, Envy and Jealousy.

What starts as a Foothold can quickly grow into a Formidable Fortress, and the only way to demolish it is from the Inside Out.

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 says, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.”

The Word of God is the only weapon capable of bringing down a spiritual Fortress, but we cannot wield it unless we know it and accept it as true. God’s Word tells us that we are loveable, worthy, forgiven, cherished, adored and treasured. Satan, on the other hand, tries to get us to believe the opposite: that we are unloved, unworthy, unforgiven, despised and rejected.

Jesus came to free us, but there’s one catch — we have to partner with Him and go Through the process of being set free. Always the perfect gentleman, Jesus will never Liberate you against your own will. Instead, He stands outside the door, waiting for permission to enter. Open the door — allow Him to tear the Weeds of Distortion out of your Mind-Field, and replace them with the Fruit-Bearing Seeds of God’s Word. Let God’s overwhelming love wreck your Fortress, tearing it down, Lie by Lie, from the Inside Out. It’s the only way you’ll ever truly be Liberated.

Based solely upon distorted accusations, fraduluent charges, and the testimony of lying witnesses, Jesus was pronounced guilty of crimes He never committed. Betrayed, abandoned, spit upon, mocked, beaten, whipped, and then nailed to a cross, Jesus’s last breath was expelled in the presence of more enemies than friends. Clearly, Jesus suffered great Injustice.

Scripture warns that those who follow Him should expect to suffer as well. The question is: who are we to expect it from? God, the Maker and Creator of the Universe, established the idea of justice; therefore, Injustice does not come from His hand. Rather, Injustice comes from the hands of Unjust Men — those who either do not believe in, or are hostile to, God. Unwilling to submit to His Authority, they walk the path of their own ideals — what is (or isn’t) acceptable — without any sort of checks and balance system to gauge their thoughts or actions. Simply stated, they do what seems right in their own eyes. Instead of caring for others at the expense of self as the Gospel directs, they care for themselves at the expense of others. That sort of Injustice is the rocket fuel of Unjust Men.

Vile things happen, not because God orchestrates it, but because Unjust Men follow their own, deviant will. While we cannot always get the target off our back, there is a Biblical principle to follow when their arrows strike. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good….” Unfortunately, this verse is often rephrased as “all things happen for a reason.” If you’re like me, that’s a hard pill to swallow in the midst of an unforseen and unavoidable disaster that has just descended upon you or your loved ones. While that phrase is okay for the Fluffy things in life, it doesn’t hold up against the Fury that sometimes life unleashes.

The crucifixion was horrible, period. Yet what happened three days later was expectedly beautiful: Jesus rose from the grave. It’s interesting, though, that despite returning from the dead, Jesus remained a Marked Man — the nail Marks in his hands and feet, along with the spear Mark in His side, were still there. But instead of evoking painful memories, those Marks became a source of hope — that the evil plans of Unjust Men will never prevail against the plans and purposes of a Just God.

To bring something good out of what is clearly bad involves a transformation process that requires our participation. We must submit our Unjust Circumstances to God and give Him permission to dig through the Ash Heap in order to find the Gems. Only God, the ultimate Recycler and Restorer, can make something Beautiful out of what is Horrible. That’s the essence of Romans 8:28.

Every Unjust Circumstance we endure leaves us with a Mark — some sort of emotional wound — that needs to be healed. Without healing, these wounds can easily fester, leaving us with a defensive, hard, unforgiving heart. I call that place Victim-Hood — a Place that’s easy to move into but nearly impossible to move out of.

If you have a smoldering emotional wound, allow Him to dig through your Ash Heap and pull out the Gems. The Master stands ready to transform your Marks into a Masterpiece, but He cannot do it if you’ve parked yourself in Victim-Hood. To exit, take the Romans 8:28 Road — it’s the only path that will ever guide you back to the Victorious Life.