06/18/2026 – What Happens When we Fail?
Scripture: Joshua 7: 6 Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, Lord God, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all—to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its back before its enemies? 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?”
Reflection: Perseverance requires getting back up. We demonstrate our faith when we are knocked down. Joshua feels destroyed. Our perception of ourselves and our outlook of the future when we are knocked down may be bleak. We will face many failures in our lives. Many will be the result of the actions of others. Be aware that there is great pain in the removal of sin. It is easy to acquire but very difficult to get rid of.
But being knocked down does not change God’s plans for you. It does not alter God’s promises for your life! Failure exposes your weakness. We often consider ourselves strong in areas where we are weak. But once your weakness is exposed, when we deal with our weakness, when we repent and we bring it before God, His power is perfected in weakness!
You will be knocked down many times in this life, but you cannot stay down. You must get up. When you are already down, there is great temptation to quit rather than face the possibility of further damage and shame. Joshua even says that he would have preferred to stay on the other side of the Jordan than to fail in the conquest of the promised land. There may be voices inside of you telling you to stay down, telling you not to try again. But God gives Joshua a very clear command: you must get up. Just because you failed to achieve my promise today, do not cancel my promise to you. You must get up and fight! Fight in righteousness and obedience! When you destroy the accursed things, those things I have marked for destruction, then evil will not be able to destroy you!