The Power of Unusual Obedience!

Joshua 6:20  So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. 

Jericho stood as the first and most formidable barrier in the land of promise. Its walls were thick, its defenses strong, and its reputation intimidating. From a natural perspective, it was unconquerable. Israel had just entered the land, and immediately, they were confronted with a fortress that could not be overcome by conventional means.

But God did not give them a military strategy — He gave them an instruction.

They were told to march around the city, remain silent, blow trumpets, and on the seventh day, release a shout. There were no weapons of siege, no visible plan of attack, no strategy that made sense to the natural mind. The victory would not come through strength or skill, but through obedience to God’s voice. Faith had to move even when the method seemed unusual.

Day after day, they walked in silence. There was no visible progress, no sign that the walls were weakening. It would have been easy to question the process or adjust the plan, but they continued in obedience. Then on the seventh day, at the appointed moment, they shouted — and the walls collapsed.

Jericho did not fall because Israel was strong; it fell because God was faithful.

This is the nature of spiritual victory. The greatest strongholds are not broken by force, but by alignment with God’s instruction. What seems foolish in the natural often carries power in the Spirit. Obedience becomes the weapon, and faith releases what God has already determined to do.

Revival follows this same pattern. God often leads His people in ways that do not appeal to human reasoning. He may call for worship when pressure is rising, prayer when action feels urgent, or persistence when nothing appears to be changing. But spiritual battles require spiritual weapons, and victory comes when we trust His method above our own understanding.

Jericho was more than a city — it was a declaration. No barrier can stand before a people who are aligned with the voice of God. The walls that appeared permanent collapsed in a moment because obedience positioned the people for a breakthrough.

Beloved, do not measure your breakthrough by what you see — measure it by your obedience. The walls before you may look immovable, but they are not stronger than the God who has spoken. This is the hour to trust His strategy, even when it stretches your understanding. If we walk when He says walk, worship when He says worship, and respond when He says speak, the walls will not stand. Revival will not be released through human effort, but through a people fully aligned with heaven — and when that alignment is complete, every stronghold will fall.

Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.

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As we celebrated Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets) and are in the midst of “Yamin Noraim” or the days of awe, the days between the Feast of Trumpets and Yom Kippur, it is the season of repentance.

This is the season that the shofar (rams horn) is blown to heed the call of warning to repent from our sins and be clean. The shofar’s unique sounding blast is a wake-up call to all who will hear.

After our very small wedding in Jerusalem, my wife and I planned to have the big ceremony she’d always dreamed of, in Havre De Grace, Maryland. Rivka had it planned it to the tee. It was an outdoor wedding next to the longest standing lighthouse on the east coast. We were going to wow our guests with an entrance by way of sailboat. Ten dancers with candles in glasses were to proceed my beautiful bride as I awaited her under our hand-crafted chuppa, lit by the sunset on the bay.

As we find ourselves in the midst of the Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe), our hearts are centered this week on repentance as we prepare for Yom Kippur, which is approaching this Friday. In this spirit, I want to share something I discovered while studying the Jewish roots of many of Yeshua’s (Jesus’) parables. I came across an insightful teaching from a Jewish Rabbi, which I believe holds a valuable lesson for us today.

Between Rosh HaShannah and Yom Kippur are ten days. These days are known as “Yamim Noraim”, “the Days of Awe” — or also translated, the “Awesome days”. In Judaism it has been long believed that these days seal your fate for the upcoming year — and also allude to your final destiny, concerning whether your name continues to be written in the Book of Life.

One of the major themes of Rosh Hashana is called Akedat Yitzchak, which means the Binding of Isaac. According to Jewish tradition, God told Abraham that the ram’s horn – otherwise known as a shofar – should be blown on Rosh Hashana to remind people of the sacrifice that God provided Himself when Abraham was about to offer Isaac on Mount Moriah.

On Wednesday this week, we will celebrate the Biblical festival of Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets) otherwise known as Rosh Ha Shana. What’s interesting about Rosh Ha Shana (the Jewish celebration of the New Year), is that it doesn’t fall on the first day of the first month. It falls on the first day of the seventh month! It’s difficult for outsiders to understand this concept, but it all makes sense if we study how the Jewish year begins and how God is outlining this age according to the Jewish feasts.

Rosh Hashanah traditionally marks the Jewish New Year. “Shanah” is a unique Hebrew word meaning “to repeat, revise, or go over again”. As we begin the new year, with fall, then winter, spring, and summer, we remember the cyclical pattern of time in God’s creation. The nature of life is to repeat itself — to continue in a cycle, marked by Rosh HaShannah — a New Year. Although time is moving in a direction toward a definite destiny determined by the Creator, it does so in cycles … truly, “what goes around comes around”.