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 7:12
Consequences to actions is one thing that many people do not think about or do not like to think about. People want to be able to do what they want to do, without any repercussion.
Often, people think that what they are doing will have no consequence, it is just a small little thing in light of much greater things. No one will notice or really care about it. Yet, every action, thought, or word has some type of consequence.
As the Israelites were going through, conquering new cities on a regular basis with no real challenge, they suddenly were beaten badly by a small city of Ai. Joshua went before God about it. He was told that there was sin in the camp of the Israelites. Someone had stolen something and hidden it. Because of that stolen item, God was not supporting the Israelites anymore. They had to clean up the camp from all sin.
Out of all the things that were destroyed in the taking of Ai, one man, Achan, had stolen a robe and some bold and silver. This little bit of theft–sin–caused God to take His had of favor and provision off of the Israelites.
Sin in a believer’s life will cause God’s favor to pull back. God does not want sin in the life of any believer. It is common for people to try to hide ‘little’ sins. People may never see the sin, but God does. Things begin to go wrong and fall apart, and the person wants to know why.
Today all a believer must do is repent, turn away from the sin and turn back to God. Jesus has already paid the price for that sin.
Do not allow any ‘small’ sins be hidden. God already sees them and knows about them.
There will be times when you will sin. Strive to keep from sinning, but if you do, immediately turn back to God and repent. God is waiting there for you to restore you. He does not want to destroy you, but to build you up. That is why God sent Jesus to pay for your sins.
Do not let sin destroy you. But let God restore you.
I pray today that you will turn to Jesus for everything; that God will help you turn from all sin; that God will build you up in Jesus; and that you will know God’s forgiveness and love.
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