Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;
When I fall, I will arise;
When I sit in darkness,
The Lord will be a light to me. (Micah 7:8 NKJV)
Joshua, the successor of Moses, was chosen by God to carry on the leadership of bringing the children of Israel towards Canaan, the Promised Land. Because of his obedience to the Lord, he gained series of victories against their enemies, but in one agonizing defeat, his men lost the battle against a small number of enemies in the town of Hai. Their humiliating defeat against Hai happened just after their glorious victory against Jericho. The root cause was the sin of Achan who coveted devoted things for the Lord. However, their biggest mistake was that they did not ask God for providence. In the midst of Joshua’s despair, the Lord said to him, “Stop lying there on the ground! Get up!” How many of us end up sulking when we fail, head downcast and drooped? Nothing will happen in such a conduct. What God told Joshua is what our God is telling us today. Do not dwell on our past failures; do not be contented in our past victories. Likewise, do not be satisfied with small victories. Do not be contented with our present level of performance in our ministries. Let us go on to perfection.
