The Biblical story of Jericho is the stuff of VBS memories, children's church songs, Veggie Tales and coloring pages.

But the story of Jericho really happened (check out this NY Times article if you need proof outside the pages of your Bible). As with all great stories, it's filled with lessons for us to apply to our daily lives when we come up against seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

In the Bible story, Joshua and the Israelites have (finally) entered into the land God promised them when they left slavery behind in Egypt some 40 years earlier. They come up against the fortified city of Jericho, a city whose walls were wide enough to race chariots on, at least as wide as a 2-lane highway, walls wide enough to hold people's dwellings (like Rahab's house).
 
For the Israelites, Jericho represented the impossible. That which could not be overcome according to their own strength and ability.

We all have our Jerichos.

For you, it might be a physical Jericho, like chronic health problems, or smoking, or overeating, or "girl trouble." Or your Jericho might be mental (depression, anxiety, fear) or emotional (anger, lust, loneliness). Into all of our lives come Jerichos... job loss, money troubles, marital problems, kids in crisis. Our Jerichos look different, even from season to season in our own lives, but the question they provoke is always the same: what's to be done about it?

I can usually tell when I've hit a Jericho moment, because I find myself commiserating with Pa Grape and thinking about going backward instead of forward...

But with every Jericho, if we will stop and ask for wisdom and direction, God's got a plan for our success. It might sound crazy, it might seem impossible, but His plan is designed for optimum overcoming power.

Want to know what's even more awesome? When we follow His plan, not only do we overcome, our victory makes the way for others... like Rahab the harlot, who lived on the wall of Jericho, but because she believed God's messengers, ended up in the lineage of Jesus Christ, the son of the living God.

So what's your Jericho?  You never know whose life and future will be affected by your victory, no matter how long it takes, how hard the battle, or how weird your methods for achieving success!