Is there anything worse than walking in circles? 

Walking in circles, spinning your wheels, or going nowhere fast—whatever you call it, it’s a frustrating situation to be in. 

Now, I have a question for you. Does God want us to walk in circles?

This is a trick question. 

My knee-jerk answer is NO. He wants us to make progress, press forward, climb higher. He doesn’t want us wasting our time. I believe this is true most of the time.

But, recently, I’ve become open to the idea that God may ask us to walk in circles for a period of time and for a good reason—although it’s usually a mysterious one. 

I was listening to a Sunday sermon recently, and the brother said that he’d read the story of the Battle of Jericho that morning before church, and he knew that God directed him to that passage for a reason. 

As I was sitting there in the pew, reflecting upon my walk with the Lord, I thought about how the Israelites were instructed to walk around the walls of Jericho six times, once a day for six days. Then, on the seventh day, they were commanded to walk around seven times and then blow the trumpets and shout. And the grand finale was that those famously thick walls would come tumbling down. 

I wonder if all the walking in circles puzzled the Israelites. I mean, why?

God probably had some good, solid reasons why He wanted the people to do this, but I’m not going to hypothesize about that right now. 

While I was sitting there in that pew, I thought about the times in my life when I felt like I was walking in circles, going nowhere. My mind went back to those six years when my husband and I wanted to have children but couldn’t. Six years. Six circles around the sun. That’s a lot of time. Time to gain strength. Time to grow closer to God. Time to sink spiritual roots of faith and trust. 

I know that God had my husband and I walk those six circles for a reason—maybe lots of reasons—and I can testify that He was with us every step of the way, even during the times when it felt like we were miles away from where we wanted to be.

Sitting there in that pew on that Sunday morning, my mind went back to the Israelites, and I realized that they had just spent 40 years walking in circles…in the wilderness. Those circles were the result of disobedience. They were a punishment, and it must’ve been a long, frustrating journey.

I wonder if, as they were marching around Jericho on, let’s say, day two or three, the Israelites thought, “I’d much rather spend six days walking in circles of obedience than 40 years walking in circles of disobedience.”

God’s circles of obedience result in victory, as they did for the Israelites that day. 

My husband and I walked in circles and tried to stay obedient, although we often failed. Still, in the end, God gave us a two-fold victory and blessed us with two sons.

Are you walking in circles right now in your life? If so, hang in there. God might ask us to walk in circles for a time, but His instructions always result in some manner of victory. 

I pray that your victory shout is not far off. 

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.

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