A Time To #8

Break Down

We extend our search into the seasons of life with the time of breaking down.  What is it that we are meant to break down?  How are we to break it down?  What will result when we break it down?  Find out below

What do we need to break down?

The phrase break down here is most directly referencing the breaking down of walls.  In other instances in the Bible, it was used to describe when Israel or God broke down the walls of their enemies.  In this passage, however, we are talking about spiritual matters, so the walls being broken down are not of Jericho or the Philistines.  It's the walls and barriers that are set before us by the world, the enemy and even our own self imposed limitations.   These walls manifest themselves in both tangible and intangible forms.

Tangible Walls

These are the walls that we can see and feel.  They act as physical barriers, preventing us from reaching our goals and aspirations in the Kingdom.  These barriers can include, but are not limited to financial issues, sickness, non-supportive family, and job restrictions. 

Intangible Walls

These are the walls we don't see, but we feel them just as strongly as though they were made of granite.  They are feelings of fear, worthlessness, apathy and much more.  These ideas and states of mind attempt to surround our walk with God and hem us in, preventing us from moving to where God wants us to be. 

How to Break Down The Walls

We can take our solution to how to break down the walls in our lives from a famous wall breaking story.  The Israelite's were camped outside of Jericho.  They had been successful up until reaching this city, but now uncertainty crept into the camp.  They had never faced a city this impregnable before and they couldn't just move on and let the city stand.  Israel was ill equipped to scale or tear down the walls within their own means.  They sat down and waited, but there leader had another plan.  

Joshua conferred with God and received the specific plan for Israel on what to do to break down the walls of Israel's enemy:

Then the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.” (Joshua 6:2-5)

As we all know, Joshua commanded Israel to do exactly as God said and Israel defeated Jericho soundly as a result.  We can have the same success against our walled situation if we follow Joshua's plan.  It doesn't matter our talents or intelligence, when it comes to a spiritual and calling barrier, we have to seek God for our solution.  Sometimes, God's solution won't make a lot of sense to us.  However, if we will faithfully implement the plan he has in place for us, we will be able to overcome the walls in our lives.

• Whatever the wall you are facing your development in God, go ask God how to break it down. 
• Bring your wall situation before Him in prayer and tell Him that you are relying solely on Him for the solution.
• Wait for His response before taking any action on the wall. 
• When he gives you a plan, immediately go and implement it. 
• Watch as your insurmountable wall comes tumbling down and you gain the victory

For this lesson, we will not have a service as wall situations are an intimate thing that one must address with God on their own.  However, if you know of someone who is facing a wall situation, encourage them to see God first before acting on it.  Consider sharing your own story of how you trusted God for your wall situation and what God did when you put it in His hands.