Joshua 7:10-12
The Lord said to Joshua, "Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.
Joshua sought God's face, and God revealed to him the truth behind what happened. Apparently some among the Israelites did not obey God's command; they took possession of the devoted things from Jericho and enraged God, and that's why the Israelites were defeated in the town of Ai. No one knew what happened because Achan alone secretly kept some of the devoted things to himself, but God revealed to Joshua the reason why they lost the battle. It's not easy for people to know why they failed; when we fail, we often blame on the circumstance or other people. This is particularly true in the American society, where everyone thinks they are victimized; we think it's always someone else's fault and we neglect our own accountability. Our greatest weakness, after all, is not knowing our own sin.
One time, disciples passed by a village in Samaria, but the villagers refused to receive them. The disciples then asked the Lord to ask the angels to send down fire and burn everyone in the village to death. The Lord, however, rebuked the disciples. That's why we need to pray - We often don't know and don't understand who we really are inside. May God open our hearts for us to see who we really are, like how God sees us. Once we humble ourselves and seek God's face, the Lord will reveal the truth to us.
The Lord clearly told Joshua the reason of their failure and how to deal with it. Sometimes we, not someone else, are the reason that hinders us from enjoying more of God's grace! We must remove these hindrances so that God's presence may keep on manifesting. Brothers and sisters, we really need the spiritual light from the Lord to enlighten us in order for us to see ourselves as how God sees us. May the Lord's spirit give us sufficient strength to remove all the devoted things from our lives, so that the power from God's presence will continue to reside in our lives and never leave us.
Pray with Pastor Tong
Lord, I thank you because you are a holy God, and you want us to be holy too. May the Lord's Spirit examine our hearts to see our own weaknesses, and give us strength to remove these weaknesses. Let us live in the glory of your presence each and every day! I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!
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