DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- VICTORIOUS LIVING

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – VICTORIOUS LIVING

"And Joshua said, 'Alas, Lord GOD, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all – to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us?  Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan!' " (Joshua 7:7).

Remember the scenario?  Israel had crossed the Jordan into the land that God had promised them as their inheritance.  The first city they encountered was Jericho, and it fell before them after seven days of marching around it.  That was so easy, that when they came to Ai, they thought it would be a piece of cake.  All they thought they needed was two or three thousand soldiers.  But they were soundly defeated.

Joshua went to the right place to find the answer.  He went to God, asking, "Alas, Lord GOD, why have you brought us here?"  It seemed to Joshua that it might have been better to stay on the East side of Jordan than to suffer such a defeat.  The problem was that there was sin in the camp. Achan had taken some silver, gold, and clothing, against God's command, and hid it in his tent.

It seems to me that when we follow God into new territory only to suffer defeat, we are prone to think it would have been better to stay in our comfort zone on the East side of Jordan. A better approach would be to step back and ask God, "Why have you brought us here?"  Setbacks could be Satan hindering our success.  Or perhaps God is trying to expose some hidden fault that needs to be taken care of before we go to the next challenge.

Self-examination is always in order because we can go no farther in our walk with Christ than our dedication to our personal holiness and obedience.  God uses failure to bring us to the place of confrontation with our own character so that we can move forward to secure our promised inheritance.  The Holy Spirit will show us our need if we will seek the Lord.  

In the case of Joshua and the Israelites, removal of the sin from their midst was the secret to their future success.  In our lives, hidden sin will keep us from experiencing victorious living.  Confession and repentance will clear the way for God to work in our lives.

Love, Dad