Strength to Fight Again When We Experience Failures
๐ช๐๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ฃ
โข What is your greatest fear? Why?ย
โข If your life had an undo button, what decision or action in your past would you undo? Why?
โข Do you find it easy or difficult to forgive others? Why?ย
๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ฉ๐ถ๐ข, โ๐๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ง๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ฎ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ฅ. ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฆ, ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ช. ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ, ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ช, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ, ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ค๐ช๐ต๐บ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ.โย ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ ๐ด:๐ญ
(Study ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ด.)
Sin has consequences. The Israelites learned this firsthand after their victory at Jericho. A surprising defeat at Ai left Joshua and the people confused and discouraged. Yet in the midst of this crisis, God revealed important truths about sin, repentance, and His faithfulness to His people. To see how this unfolded, let us follow the story as it develops in Joshua 7โ8.
๐ญ. ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฒ๐น ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฑโ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ.ย
๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ด๐ณ๐ข๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐จ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด, ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ช, ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ก๐ข๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ช, ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ก๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ฉ, ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ถ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฉ, ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ด๐ณ๐ข๐ฆ๐ญ. ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ ๐ณ:๐ญ
After Israel triumphed over Jericho, God commanded them to destroy the entire city and everything in itโexcept the silver, gold, bronze, and iron, which were to be devoted to the Lordโs treasury. But Achan from the tribe of Judah violated Godโs command by taking some of the devoted things for himself. God was so displeased that He allowed the Israelites to be defeated by their enemies. Despite being more numerous than the people of Ai, they lost the battle. Sin can derail us from fulfilling our God-given purpose and even affect the people around us. Relate an experience when you did not do things Godโs way, and it resulted in terrible consequences.
๐ฎ.ย ๐๐ผ๐๐ต๐๐ฎ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ฑโ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ.ย
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ฉ๐ถ๐ข ๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ค๐ญ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ง๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ด๐ณ๐ข๐ฆ๐ญ. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ด. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ฉ๐ถ๐ข ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ, โ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ด, ๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ ๐๐๐, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ, ๐ต๐ฐ ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐บ ๐ถ๐ด? ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ!โย ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ ๐ณ:๐ฒโ๐ณ
Achanโs disobedience resulted in defeat and Godโs displeasure. Joshua lamented this before the Lord, and God responded by telling him the reason for His anger as well as how Israel can get back on track. Joshua led the Israelites to repentance and the Lord turned from His burning anger and gave them another chance to get things right. When was the last time you grieved over your sin? How did God respond as you repented?ย
๐ฏ.ย ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐บ๐ถ๐ฒ๐.ย
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ฉ๐ถ๐ข, โ๐๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ง๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ฎ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ฅ. ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฆ, ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ช. ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ, ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ช, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ, ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ค๐ช๐ต๐บ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ.โย ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ ๐ด:๐ญ
The Lord encouraged the Israelites to rise up and fight the battle against Ai one more timeโthis time, with the assurance of Godโs victory. Even in our failings, Godโs heart is to give us opportunities to return to Him. His promise, His presence, His missionโall these continue to hold true despite our being prone to wander and go off course. In what ways have you seen Godโs grace despite your shortcomings? What did you learn about God from this?ย
Our mission and purpose are hinged on Godโs unchanging character. We have the tendency to rebel against Him, but even our failures will not be able to thwart His mission and purposes. Through Jesusโ life, death, and sacrifice, He opened the door for our forgiveness and restoration through faith in Him. Furthermore, through His Spirit, He strengthens us, and involves us in what He is doing in the world.
๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
โข Is there something youโve stopped doing (e.g., praying, attending worship services, or discipling others) because you feel unqualified or like youโve failed God? How does knowing Godโs character change your perspective now?
โข Are there people you trust who are walking with you this season? Ask them to pray for you today, that you may obey God wholeheartedly and follow Him every day.ย
โข Who are the people with whom you can share Godโs gracious and restorative heart? The next time you meet them, share your testimony or the story of the Israelites who sinned, repented, and were restored by Him.ย
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ
โข Thank God for what Jesus has done on the cross. Because of this, we, believers, are perpetually cleansed and washed from our sin, enabling us to continually take part in Godโs mission.ย
โข Ask God for the grace to seek Him and His will through His word and that as you obey Him, others would witness His faithfulness and miraculous power in your life.ย
โข Pray for strength in times of trial. Pray that as the Holy Spirit continually sanctifies you, He will also reignite the fire in your heart to pursue God and His mission.ย