All of us begin building a "Great Wall" of self-preservation at a young age. This wall is built out of fear and to protect self-interest. To walk in the fullness of Love, this wall must come down, and our interest must shift away from ourselves and focused on others’ wellbeing. A wall is meant to divide and as we focus on self-preservation, we build a wall and separate from others in varying degrees. We are unwilling to let others too close because of prior experience of being hurt when we have been vulnerable. The wall is built to defend against pain inflicted by others. Our wall must come tumbling down, the sooner, the better.
Jericho was the first city to be conquered by the children of Israel. The name Jericho means "moon" symbolizing the church which was intended to reflect the light of the sun or Son. Scripture provides us with appropriate examples that apply to our personal growth. Just as parables in the New Testament were a means for Jesus to convey wisdom and understanding for those with ears to hear, the Old Testament provides metaphors that parallel our human condition. These too are given to us to apply to our path towards maturity.
The children of Israel learned to hear and obey Our Heavenly Father in the wilderness. They spent forty years instead of eighteen months due to their unbelief and imbedded self-interest. The new generation who saw the miracles of being sustained by Our Heavenly Father developed enough faith to be led by Joshua into the Promised Land. The old generation could not overcome their trust in the bondage they grew up with in Egypt. Since they had only experienced bondage, they had no courage to walk according to the promises of the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. Their flesh prevailed, and their own internal walls remained intact.
The new generation was led by Joshua (Jesus) into the Promised Land and the first city to conquer was Jericho, a great walled city. A wall is built to create a division between those who might harm you and those whom you trust to look out for your best interest. The bigger the wall, the better. There was no way for the children of Israel to scale the wall and take the city for THE LORD. Our Heavenly Father sent an angel to lead them. Angels have the assigned power to strengthen us when we are given an obstacle we are unable to overcome in the flesh. The walls of Jericho needed supernatural intervention. Our personal walls may require the same.
Joshua 6: 1 Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. 2 And the LORD said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. NKJV
Hearing and responding to Our Heavenly Father, Joshua now had sufficient faith to lead the troops to victory. What brought down the walls?
: 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 flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. 21 And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword. NKJV
The sound of the trumpets and a great shout were required for the walls to come down. In Scripture, the trumpet sound represents jubilee, the forgiveness of debt and redemption of property (Leviticus 25). Jubilee represents liberty from oppression.
Each of us needs freedom from personal oppression. Each of us has built walls of various sizes, shapes, and heights to protect us from being hurt and/or exploited by others. At various times people have offended us in some manner. Our parents may have abused us in some fashion, verbally or physically, schoolmates may have embarrassed us publicly, or our so-called friends may have compromised our trust in some manner. Nonetheless, we have been hurt by others. The more severe the abuse, the higher the wall. Our old man builds the wall to protect us from further abuse. The problem is that it creates an entrenched division with others and the result causes even greater division.
What is the solution to the wall-building? We must trust in the Love of Our Heavenly Father. We must be willing to let our walls come down. Our Creator will not hurt us, but moreover, HE will lead and guide us into peace:
Psalm 23: 1 The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
Forever. NKJV
In order to be willing to let your walls come down, you must believe the above Psalm. Your old man wants to keep you inside your walls of bondage. Your old man wants to keep you convinced that everyone outside those walls wants to hurt you. One of the effects of the wall is to become judgmental. You judge everyone to have a suspicious intent, waiting to find some weakness to exploit. They become an adversary that you must keep at arm’s length. Not to close now!
The problem with the wall is that you don’t let Our Heavenly Father lead you to full maturity. You have placed yourself in a box of protection. Maturity comes with testing, and you have "protected" yourself from being tested.
The result is that you don’t change and your wall grows thicker and higher. You predispose yourself with pastimes that simply make no difference in anyone’s life, including yours. You subtly shun others from getting inside your personal space. You distance yourself from any meaningful relationship. You will not allow yourself to walk as an expression of HIS Love toward mankind. The walls must come down!
How were the children of Israel prepared to take Jericho?
Deuteronomy 31:7 “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”
How was Joshua empowered to take down the walls of Jericho?
Deuteronomy 31:7 Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. NKJV
How are we empowered to take down our walls?
Psalm 27:14 Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD! NKJV
It takes courage for us to let others into our inner circle. Our Heavenly Father is the first One to let in. Isn’t it ironic that we must decide to let the One who created us into our innermost being? When we do, HE will strengthen our heart. It takes a strong heart to overcome the old man in us. The old man, the ego, has developed much strength through the adverse circumstances of the past. We passively decided to give our old man reign over our life. The spirit of self-preservation and self love has prevailed and ruled us in the past. We have alienated friends who wanted to be intimate with us. Those with spouses have been robbed of precious moments of intimacy the heart longs for. If it weren’t for the Love from others, we might be fully isolated and lonesome. This state leads only to death and destruction.
The solution is to embrace Love. We must turn away from anything that promotes division in our life. Love unifies, Love shares, Love imparts life. Love is the only thing that can break through the walls built for protection. Love melts away the fear the built those walls. Over and over we are told to "fear not".
Joshua was told:
Deuteronomy 31:8 And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed. KJV
To Daniel HE spoke:
Daniel 10:19 And he said, “O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!” So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” NKJV
We must overcome our core fears. This fear is where self-preservation gets its strength. When you focus only on yourself, you are not walking out your calling. Be assured that your calling will somehow be a blessing to others. We are likened to parts of the body supplying each other with the flow of life.
Jesus said:
Luke 6: 27 “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you NKJV
His words challenge the very wall built as a result of your "enemies". The people you are protecting yourself from are the same people you are to minister Love. The old man will argue against this commandment spoken by Our Lord, yet He died for you and me when we were yet His enemy, one of the many ungodly. The whole world was made of vessels of dishonor yet He was sent. Imagine if Jesus had built a wall of protection around Himself. Don’t you think it would have been impregnable? None would have been able to hurt Him.
Legions of angels stood ready to protect him awaiting His command. Instead, He built no walls of protection and openly became vulnerable on our behalf. He is our example.
Your fear of being hurt has been a more powerful influence than your assurance of the Love of Our Heavenly Father. Possibly your earthly father or mother was a poor example of Love of a parent. How long will you use earthen vessels as your excuse to maintain the wall? Yes, the wall requires a lot of maintenance, resource, and time. You will go out of your way to maintain it. You will perpetuate its influence at the cost of friendships and loving relationships. Your path will be littered with failed relationships, judging each one to have been flawed by their suspicious actions and never yourself to blame.
I say it again, it is time for all the walls to come down. It is time for you to change and quit using the past as your excuse to be the way you are. The Apostle Paul wrote:
Romans 3: 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. NKJV
Yes, we all fall short of HIS standard yet by HIS grace we are redeemed. We must no longer love our flesh more than we Love Our Heavenly Father. We must take down that wall of isolation and let others see us for who we are- a child of the Most High GOD. We do not need to apologize for who we are. HE designed each one of us to be unique with a unique set of gifts and a unique calling. We must let our light shine forth.
How do you protect yourself from those who want to hurt you? Align yourself with Our Heavenly Father. HIS nature is Love thus your nature is Love. Love formed you in the womb. Love will bring down that wall you built for protection. Quit hiding from others out of fear of being hurt or maligned. Let Love prevail. Abide in HIS Love:
John 15:9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love." NKJV
HIS Love expressed in you will overcome your enemies. HIS Love will heal those deep-seated hurts at the core of your being. HIS Love will remove them and replace them with an unending Love for mankind. You will begin to see your enemies as potential brothers and sister who are simply blinded to HIS Love. As you minister Love to your enemies, you will convert them to friends.
Jesus spoke these words that we must embrace:
Matthew 5:44 “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you." NKJV
These are the very same people who caused us to build our walls. I strongly recommend that you study, dwell, meditate, and finally accept these words. Until you fully accept this command, your wall will remain intact and your calling will be impaired.
Let the real you shine forth. Let Love flow through your thoughts, words, and deeds. Once your wall comes down, your journey through the Promised Land can continue. We must quit being overly intent to protect our own self-interest and consider others who need our ministry in their lives. Someone must step up and quit focusing on self. Will it be you?
Meditate on the walls you have created for self-protection. Are you willing to tear them down if FATHER asks you too? Do you remember how long those walls have been standing? Do you remember why those walls were built in the first place? Isn’t time to go beyond the hurt inflicted years or decades ago? What really can man do to us?