Circling Jericho: What Marching in Silence Teaches Us About Faith

In this devotional from the Joshua series, Pastor Mike Woodruff arrives at one of the most iconic moments in all of Scripture — the walls of Jericho — and invites us to look past the miracle itself to what this strange, silent march reveals about the nature of faith.Four things stand out from this remarkable account.First, obedience to God can look genuinely odd. Marching around a fortified city in silence for six days isn't in any military handbook. And yet that's exactly what God commanded and exactly what Joshua did. As Eugene Peterson's famous phrase captures it — drawing on Nietzsche of all people — this is what "a long obedience in the same direction" looks like. Faithfulness that shows up even when the results aren't visible yet.Second, Jericho is less a military campaign than a worship act. The priests lead the way. The Ark of the Covenant follows. Victory doesn't come through strategy or strength — it comes through spiritual surrender and alignment with God.Third, there's the silence. In a world of constant noise, screens, podcasts, and distraction, silence feels threatening to most of us. But as Dallas Willard observed, it's often in silence that we finally hear the voice of God. The march around Jericho is a reminder that stillness isn't emptiness — it's space for God to speak.And fourth, the battle belongs to the Lord. The walls don't fall because of clever tactics. They fall because God is faithful. Our job is to walk in obedience and trust Him to do what only He can do.If you find yourself circling your own Jericho right now — staying faithful, staying silent, waiting on a breakthrough that hasn't come yet — this story is for you. God's timing is perfect, and He is faithful to bring the walls down.📖 Series: Joshua — A Devotional Study 🎙️ Pastor: Mike Woodruff 📌 Scripture Focus: Joshua 6Subscribe and follow along as we journey through the book of Joshua together.