Joshua 6:20 “When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city.”

Perhaps nothing undercuts our faith in people more than promises that are made but not kept. Politicians are feeding us heaping helpings of promises in these months leading up to a presidential election. Past experience tells us they won’t all be kept. Even if your candidate wins, you will probably be disappointed by some of the promises that get broken.

That is never an issue with our Lord. He keeps his promises. Just ask Joshua and the people he led in taking the city of Jericho. The walls miraculously fell down, just like the Lord had promised.

As strange as God’s plan sounded, it worked. But that is always the way with God’s plans, isn’t it. Years later Joshua told these same people, “You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.” He may ask us to believe and do some strange things, but he keeps his promises. He never lets us down.

With each promise kept the Lord had built the faith of his people. He turned them from a nation of sheep farmers and desert wanderers into an army of believers who followed his lead and triumphed in his power.

Today, you and I live with even more promises kept than they did. Right there at Jericho over 3000 years ago he was keeping a promise to you and me, too. It’s a promise that means the difference between heaven and hell. Do you know what it is? Less than 20 miles from Jericho is a little town called Bethlehem, the place where Jesus would be born. Just about 15 miles away was the place where he would suffer and die to pay for the sins of the world. The fall of Jericho was the first step in making this the Land of Promise, the homeland of Jesus, another step in God’s plan to save the world. The promise of Jesus was kept because God kept his promise at Jericho.

That’s a promise on which we can build our faith. That’s the promise that makes us his modern day army of believers. Trust his word, follow his lead, and triumph in his power.