Wednesday February 25, 2009 FALL ON YOUR FACE!
Joshua and the leaders of Israel tore their clothes in grief. They put dust on their heads and bowed down to the ground in front of the LORD's ark. They stayed there until evening. Joshua said, "Almighty LORD, why did you bring these people across the Jordan River? Was it to hand us over to the Amorites so that they could destroy us? I wish we had been content to live on the other side of the Jordan! Lord, what else can I say after Israel ran away from its enemy? When the Canaanites and everyone who lives in the land hears about it, they will surround us and remove every memory of us from the earth. What will you do then so that your great name will be remembered?" The LORD said to Joshua, "Get up! What are you doing bowing on the ground? Israel has sinned. They have ignored the requirements that I have placed on them. They have taken what I claimed for myself and put it among their own goods. They have not only stolen, but they have also lied. "The people of Israel will not be able to defend themselves against their enemies. They will run away from their enemies because the people of Israel are now claimed for destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy what I have claimed for myself." Joshua 7:6-12 Well, Joshua and the other leaders knew what to do; don't you think? They knew the posture of repentance even though they didn't know what they needed to repent of. They knew that in order to discover the key to their failure that they needed to fall on their face. In this passage of scripture we see clearly what kind of a relationship Joshua had with our Lord. He wasn't afraid to voice his confusion and ask hard questions. He was astounded. He knew the power of God, He witnessed many of God's miracles, and now here he was the leader of a nation and he felt the impact of the responsibility. He needed God. Again we hear God saying that the entire nation had sinned. He continues to use the word "they" instead of him or her. Exactly what is the implication here? Yes, that is right. One bad apple does spoil the whole bunch. Just buy a basket of peaches and leave them sitting there for a few days with one rotten one in the group and you will find that to be true of peaches too! When we sin that sin doesn't just affect us - it affects everyone in our group. The old saying that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link is true too. So, what do you do when this happens? You do like Joshua and get alone with God. Voice your concern and frustration and then wait for His response. He may tell you what He told Joshua, "Get up!" The second thing we must do after we fail is to get up and get busy. We need to get to the root of the problem and get it settled before we can move on. In his book, "Failing Forward," John Maxwell says there is no reason why we should consider every fall a failure if we learn from the fall; which is precisely what God is about to teach His people. Let us be very careful to pay attention too! Father, I thank You for the times You have led me to fall on my face and seek You. I praise You for Your guidance. Help us learn to wait on You. ******************************************* O. Addison Gethers e-mail address : [email protected] or [email protected] window live messenger: [email protected] aim: durangoadd64 skype: cowboys62 yahoo messenger: OADDISONGETHERS --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/DBILG?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
