Joshua 8:1-2
Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city."
In this passage, Jehovah told Joshua: "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." This is God's first promise for Joshua after the defeat at town of Ai, and it's the same promise as the one given to Joshua when God first revealed Himself. In Joshua 1:9, God said: "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous." God's promises to us will never change, and the power of His promises will never change either. In fact, failure is a necessary step in the process of our growing life. Some failures happen because of our lust, some in our marriage, some in our interpersonal relationship, or even at work or with our expectation on others. God allows us to go through failure, because if we never fail we'd think we are strong. Just like what happened the night when the Lord was betrayed, Peter told the Lord that "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will." Soon after he said this, he denied the Lord three times. The Bible says that "Immediately a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: "Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times," so "he went outside and wept bitterly." Peter thought he was strong, but at that moment he completely collapsed.
God's promises to us, however, will never change. People will break promises, but God will always keep His promises. James 1:16-17 says that "Don't be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." When Jesus was born, the wise men from the East though the king they were searching for was born in Jerusalem. Even though a star guided them, but as soon as they reached Jerusalem they quit following the star and entered into the city. Later on, they found out that Jesus wasn't born in Jerusalem, but in Bethlehem, so they proceeded to go there. When they were on their way to Bethlehem, Matthew 2:9 says that "the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was." I like the fact that the star "went ahead of them." When they digressed, God never actually left them, but it was the eyes of men that left God. When they turned back to God, however, they suddenly found that God's promise and power never changed. That's why we don't ever need to fear or panic! May the Lord help us to never stay in our failure of the past, but to rise up again from our failure and, by the might of the Lord, turn failure into victory!
Pray with Pastor Tong
Dear Lord, we thank you because your promise and power will never change. Brothers and sisters, no matter what you circumstance is right now, you must depend on the Lord by faith. May the Lord's spirit pour onto us so that we might become victorious with His help. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!
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