[Steve Myers] The other day we were going over the story of Joshua as he came to the Battle of Jericho. And it is an amazing story in Joshua chapter 6. Here God is leading His people into the Promised Land and in a way, Joshua is a military commander. He's been through battles as they've come out of Egypt and coming to the Promised Land, God gives him instructions that must've seemed a little confusing because instead of just immediately taking that city…

[Darris McNeely] They had to march around the wall.

[Steve Myers] They had to march around the walls over and over and over again. And that must've been a little bit of a challenge for Joshua - maybe even a confusing thing as God instructed him to do these things. And I wonder, do you ever have those kinds of situations in your life where it's perplexing, it's confusing. You're not sure exactly what to do and yet God's word gives you some specific instructions that may at times seem difficult to obey. What do you do?

[Darris McNeely] What you're facing when you come to those moments is the problem between trusting and obeying. God gave Joshua an instruction to march his army around the walls several times - totally unorthodox, not a very militaristic approach, not good strategy in that sense. And Joshua asks, "Why? What's the purpose of this?" And yet he knew what God had already done and he had already passed many tests of obedience, but what Joshua had to learn was trust. And trust when it comes to a relationship with God, is all important.

[Steve Myers] And that happens over and over and over again throughout the Bible. We see those kinds of situations come up, whether it's with Joshua - we know the story. What did he do? Well, he marched around the walls. He did it exactly the way God said. He trusted     Him and what were the results? It was ultimate success, so it worked out.

[Darris McNeely] And on the final date, at the final time, the walls fell down.

[Steve Myers] And so, it's a good example for us that we all need to face life's situations exactly like that. When it seems confusing, go back to the word of God and listen to Him, trust Him, and that will help us to obey.

[Darris McNeely] Obedience is a step toward faith and learning faith and it couples here with this concept of trust in God. Trust is that, not only the basis of a relationship with God, but also it's really the basis of our human relationships.

[Steve Myers] In the book of Isaiah, it gives us a little bit of insight into that. Isaiah 50:10 - and in this particular passage here's what it says, it says, "All of you that honor the Lord and obey the words of His servant, the path you walk may be dark indeed, but trust in the Lord.  Rely on your God." So when it is dark, when it is difficult, when it is confusing, when it seems like, "How can I do this?" When God's word tells us, like Joshua, he obeyed, he trusted God, and it worked out for him the way God wanted. And we can do the same when our path is dark. When we trust God, that will help us to obey - it makes obedience easier.

[Darris McNeely] And it leads to faith as well. That's BT Daily. Join us next time.