Success And Failure

Today’s meditation is based on Joshua 7:4, “So about 3,000 men from the people went up there, but they fled before the men of Ai.” (TLV)

When the people of Israel were confronted with the mighty city of Jericho, they trusted God, obeyed His counsel, and thereby experienced an astounding victory. However, when they went on to fight against the city of Ai which was comparatively insignificant, they were met with unexpected failure.

Oftentimes when we encounter failure, we lose heart and become discouraged or distressed.

The Israelites were so perplexed that their hearts grew wearied from this unforeseen turn of events.

We read in Joshua 7:5, “The men of Ai struck down about 36 of their men, and they chased them from outside the gate as far as Shebarim, striking them down on the slope. So the hearts of the people melted and became like water.” (TLV)

The hearts of the people melted like ice at the predicament that befell them. God had made mighty promises to Joshua and his men that He would be with them, and that no one could stand against him all the days of his life. It was therefore a major disappointment for the Israelites who were defeated by the people of Ai, which made them totally lose heart.

Interestingly, after this failure the Israelites sought God, did as He commanded them to, and regained victory over Ai. They sanctified themselves, put aside all that defiled them, and God did mighty wonders for them.

As children of God you may have faced some failures and disappointments which have left you wondering as to what the outcome would be. If such is your situation, listen to God’s word, and I am certain that you will be greatly encouraged.

1. Go to God in prayer for everything

The verdict of those who spied on Ai

In Joshua 7:2-3, we read, “Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and spoke to them saying: “Go up and spy out the land.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. When they returned to Joshua, they reported to him: “Let not all the people go up—only about two or three thousand men need go up and strike Ai, so don’t wear out all the people there, for they are just a few.” (TLV)

Jericho seemed formidable to the Israelites, and so they looked to the Lord for counsel to defeat it. God gave them counsel, they obeyed because they knew that they could not conquer Jericho with their own strength. The outcome was that they had a most amazing victory. However, after their victory over Jericho, the men who spied on the land of Ai, thought it was insignificant compared to the city of Jericho. They assumed that with just 3000 men they could easily overthrow the city of Ai. Joshua gave heed to this information, and immediately sent the men as was suggested by those who spied on Ai. The ones who sought the Lord for counsel when faced with Jericho, chose to do their own thing, and did not even enquire of the Lord as to what they should do when it came to fighting against Ai.

Seek God for everything, small or big

Have you noticed how we go to God when we encounter huge problems which seem insurmountable, and yet for the little problems we face we chose to make our own decisions? Irrespective of whether the difficulties that come our way are small or big, the Lord reminds us that we need to pray about all of them. When we seek God’s counsel, and do accordingly, we will certainly experience success in all of our endeavors.

Let me share some examples which will help you understand this point better. When children are going to write their exams, certain subjects which they have studied well and are easy for them, they will go confidently knowing that they will pass them with ease. However, there may be some subjects that are tough for them, and they will request parents or church leaders to pray for them that they will do well in those exams. The reason for this is that they feel that the easy subjects they can handle themselves, and that they need God’s help only for those subjects that are difficult for them. Here’s something that every student must keep in mind, you must be well prepared for your exams, but when you go with prayer trusting in the Lord, you will surely succeed.

So also, when we get a headache we may take a tablet, and deal with it lightly. If on the other hand we go to the doctor, and are told that we have something major, then we desperately fast, pray, run to God, and ask everyone to pray for us. Truly it is God’s will that we seek Him at all times, even for the little and insignificant matters. Another example is when we have the needed finance to purchase a vehicle we will go and purchase it outright without a second thought. However, if there is a lack of finance then we turn to God, and ask for His help to meet our need. Let us not lean on our own understanding or go to God only for hard times, but seek Him all the time, and make a decision to take everything to the Lord in prayer.