Now Jericho was strongly fortified because of the Israelites—no one leaving or entering. The Lord said to Joshua, “Look, I have handed Jericho, its king, and its fighting men over to you. March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry seven ram’s-horn trumpets in front of the ark. But on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the trumpets. When there is a prolonged blast of the horn and you hear its sound, have all the people give a mighty shout. Then the city wall will collapse, and the people will advance, each man straight ahead.”

So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven trumpets in front of the ark of the Lord.” He said to the people, “Move forward, march around the city, and have the armed troops go ahead of the ark of the Lord.” (Joshua 6:1-7)

Even when God tells us to be bold, it can be frightening to be noisy and call attention to ourselves, because we know we’re getting the attention of the enemy. People in Jericho certainly heard the hubbub going on outside their walls. Sure, God was more powerful, but I imagine many inside those walls were planning their attack and defense.

No matter what attention we call to ourselves that we’d prefer not to have, we need to be confident in God’s plan. We need to follow Him well, not rationalize what we should or shouldn’t do because of our own preferences. We need to make sure we’re making noise under His direction, not just because we think it’s a good idea. It will probably look a bit different in both style and timing for each of us. That’s how God works. Instead of giving a one-size-fits-all-so-just-copy-someone direction, He says, “Listen well to Me, and follow Me well. I will lead well.”

We can trust Him even when we don’t understand.