Hell in the Hallway.

See, I HAVE DELIVERED Jericho into your hands,

along with its king and its fighting men.

Joshua 6:2

 

I had a fantastic pastor as a kid.  He’d sing, preach, preach/sing, and then, 3 hours later, we’d walk out of church, thanking our lucky stars that big old chandelier hanging above those pews didn’t fall down on us yet.  Our dancing literally had the walls shaking some Sundays.

My faithful friends back in Pittsburgh, still worshiping together, have adopted a phrase because of him, and I’ve been reminded of it lately:  “It’s hell in the hallway.”

And, Lord Almighty, yes, indeed, it can be.

I’ll explain…

2 Corinthians 3:18 – “But we all…are changed into the same image from GLORY TO GLORY, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

The phrase from “Glory to Glory” here is explaining how we will move from the glory we now have, which was begun in Christ on the cross, to the glory we will one day attain in our promised eternity – when we see our Savior face-to-face in heaven.

Easily overlooked, however, there is a teeny tiny word in-between those “Glory’s”.  And it remains a crucial piece to the puzzle of our lives.

It’s the word: TO

You see, the “To” is the “hallway”.

• It’s the process
• It’s the believing
• It’s the seeking
• It’s the walking
• It’s the preparing
• It’s the testing
• It’s the timing
• It’s the waiting
• It’s the hallway (and it can be hell)

When we are being taken from one season to the next, our arrival to the “next” depends heavily on our time spent on the in-between.  Ironically, we try desperately to avoid this incredibly important place.  But how you use those steps can change absolutely everything.

If you feel like God has promised you something, told you to do something, or showed you the way to something that you have not yet attained.  DO NOT STOP WALKING.

The Israelites were walkers.  You want to talk about people who spent some time in the hallway… look no farther than these guys.  People who handled it just like you and me.  One minute they were dancing through the wilderness in anticipation of their future home – the next, they were plotting to kill their leaders.  One day they were building memorials to God, their deliverer – the next day they were cursing Him as the “God who brought them and then deserted them”.

When you’re in the hallway it’s not always easy holding on to a promise from the Lord, no matter who you are.

But it’s the Israelites/Jericho combination that really shows us how to handle the hallways we face in our lives today.

God to said to Joshua:  “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.” (Joshua 6:2)  Then He tells them to walk around the city once for the next 6 days and on the 7th day march around 7 times.  That last time around, they’re told to shout and blow their horns.

What’s the takeaway?:

Your promise is in effect even when it’s still on the way

• Open your eyes and SEE it now. God didn’t say I “will” deliver you.  He said I “HAVE” delivered you.
• In the hallway, we often mope around thinking God forgot us, that we heard wrong, that somewhere we missed the turn-off.
• He made you the promise precisely so you would not need to worry while you’re on the way to it.

The way you get there may seem altogether insane

• The Israelite men were warriors, trained and ready for a battle.  But God didn’t tell them to fight.  He told them to walk.
• The hallway may sometimes feel like a waste of your talents.  It’s not.
• If you’re a warrior who is walking, don’t stop doing what you’ve been told, in favor of what you already know.  This hallway is teaching you something new.  Something you need to learn now.  Keep moving.

Seriously, don’t give up in the 11 hour

• You may be so tired of this hallway that your heading toward the emergency exit right now.  STOP.
• What if the Israelites had said to themselves, “this is so ridiculous, it’s a waste, what are we doing?”.  Walking quietly gives you plenty of time to think, after all.  Plenty of time to talk yourself right out of your victory.  Don’t.  You wake up on day seven and finish this thing!
• And when God tells you look at that city wall and YELL (while every logical bone in your body is telling you this is absurd), that’s when you scream like you’re the craziest cat in the bunch.  What a miserable shame it would be to lose this breakthrough because you weren’t willing to let go of your inhibition and finally take what’s yours!!

My friend, you may have been fighting through this wilderness for longer than you ever anticipated, but let your “Strength Rise” as you wait a little longer on Him (Isaiah 40:31).  Stay the course.  Hold fast to your promise.  Even when it makes absolutely no sense, even when it’s hard, even when it’s long – Don’t stop.  Do. Not. Stop.

No one lives in a hallway.  You aren’t going to either!