“And the LORD said to Joshua: ‘See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.’” – Joshua 6:2

Scripture reading: Joshua 6:1-5

Joshua has never yet fought a battle like this. How is his army supposed to take this fortified city with its strong gates and thick walls? Build battering rams for the gates? A siege ramp to scale the walls? Or maybe just surround the city and starve them into submission? It looks so hopeless.

God tells him: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand!” What an odd thing for the Commander of the LORD’s army to say, because Joshua doesn’t see a defeated Jericho. All he sees is a powerful, fortified city, with strong, locked gates and high, thick walls! Joshua sees an impenetrable fortress that even if his army does succeed in taking, he is going to lose many good men doing it. That is what Joshua “sees.”

So the Lord encourages Joshua to look with the eyes of faith and see that it is not him or his army who is going to fight this battle. It is the LORD! Jericho will be taken, but in the way that God determines. And the rest is history.

Whatever “battle” you may be facing in life, the Lord calls for you to “See!” Do not dwell on outward appearances. Look instead with the eye of faith to what God can do. Find your hope in how He has promised to care for you, fight for you, love you. Humanly, your situation may seem hopeless, but “cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

Suggestions for prayer

Ask God to give you the eyes of faith. Ask Him to work powerfully even in the midst of your hopeless situation. Ask Him to give you even more grace to find your rest in Him.

This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional. Rev. Ed Marcusse is the pastor of the Oak Glen United Reformed Church of Lansing, Illinois.