When Obedience Doesn’t Make Sense — A Word on the Fall of Jericho

Author: Tanner Reuss

Sometimes obedience to God doesn’t look brave. It looks crazy. Sometimes it feels like walking in the dark with scraped knees and shaky hands, doing what you think God told you to do—while everyone else stands at a distance, watching with narrowed eyes and furrowed brows, whispering that you’ve lost your grip. You’re following the Lord, and still—you're misunderstood. You feel alone. The outcome looks nothing like you hoped. And all the while, people you love are telling you to turn back, stop pushing, be realistic. But here’s the thing: obedience has never made much sense in human terms. It rarely earns applause in real time. It doesn’t always come with confirmation or clarity. Sometimes it just feels like walking in circles around a wall that refuses to move.

And yet—that’s exactly where God does His best work.

The Fall of Jericho

In Joshua 6, God tells His people to conquer the city of Jericho, not with weapons or brute strength, but with silence. With steps. With horns.

“March around the city once a day for six days. On the seventh day, march seven times. Blow the trumpets. Shout. The walls will fall.”

(paraphrased from Joshua 6:3–5)

Can you imagine what that felt like?

Every morning, waking up and walking around those same high, unmoved walls. No change. No cracks. Just the same stone staring back. I'm sure it felt ridiculous. I'm sure people in the city laughed. I'm sure there were whispers among the Israelites wondering if Joshua had heard God right. But they kept walking and on the seventh day, the walls fell. Because God said they would. Not because they tried harder. Not because they convinced anyone it made sense. But because they obeyed.

Obedience Isn’t Always Logical

Sometimes what God asks you to do goes directly against logic, comfort, or popular opinion. Sometimes it’s leaving what feels safe. Sometimes it’s staying when everything in you wants to run. Sometimes it’s forgiving when the world tells you to cut them off. Sometimes it’s launching something with no guarantee. Sometimes it’s letting something go even when everyone says it’s too soon. And sometimes—if we’re being really honest—it just feels humiliating. Because obedience doesn’t always work the way we imagined. Sometimes we circle walls for what feels like forever, and nothing moves.

But that doesn’t mean it’s not working.

That doesn’t mean God isn’t still writing the story.

When Everyone Thinks You're Wrong

If you’re in that place—walking in obedience and being misunderstood—you’re not alone. There are stories all over Scripture of people doing exactly what God told them to do, and still being mocked, doubted, rejected. It’s not new. Obedience is not a PR campaign. It’s not about convincing people you’re right. It’s not about optics or strategy or “what makes sense on paper.” It’s about trust. Raw, real, sometimes-weary trust.

Because God sees the bigger picture. He sees what we don’t. And He honors the obedience no one else applauds.

Keep Circling

If God told you to walk, keep walking. Even if it looks strange. Even if you’re tired. Even if nothing is moving yet. Even if everyone around you is telling you it’s time to stop.

God is still the same God who brought down Jericho’s walls and if He said they’ll fall—they will.