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. Joshua 7:11

Staying in favor with someone requires that the person does what is expected or agreed upon. These agreements can be written or unwritten agreements as to how one is to act or what he is to do or not do.

Once a person begins to do things outside of those agreements, favor can be lost. Stealing and lying are two ways to quickly lose favor with anyone.

God pulled His favor from Israel allowing them to be beaten in a battle. He told Joshua that they had sinned, stolen, lied and taken what was to be destroyed.

It is commonly thought that there is nothing that a person can do to get God to turn against him once he becomes a believer. With this type of thinking many people choose to purposely sin against God.

Lying and stealing are the most common ways to sin against God. People will lie about their faith, trust and devotion to God. People will steal what belongs to God to be used for themselves, holding back tithes and offerings.

God’s love is not removed, but His hand of favor is removed. He will allow the world to win against the believer who is sinning, lying and stealing from Him.

Although God may pull His favor for a time, He is open to repentance and change. Any believer who repents of doing something wrong will immediately regain God’s favor in his life. The Holy Spirit will intervene and give him strength to win the battles against the world. The plans of the enemy will be stopped.

There may be times in your life in which you will choose to sin against God in some form or other. Your choice to sin will break God’s favor with you.

Choosing to sin is refusing to obey God, rejecting His ways and making yourself in control. It is lying about who God really is. It is stealing what belongs to Him–your whole life.

Do not allow yourself to be found in lying and stealing from God. Just as you do not want anyone to lie or steal from you, neither does God desire those things.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will not lie to God or others; that you will not steal anything that belongs to God; that you will be devoted to God and His ways of living; and that you will know God’s favor in your life.