Round 2; Facing your Defeats

Nov. 30

Read: Joshua 8

Round 2; Facing your Defeats

“And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, his city, and his land. And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king.” (v.1,2)

Sooner or later, you must face your defeats with the Lord at your side. This is actually the path forward into victory. The Lord shows up to Joshua to assure him that it was time to go back and fight Ai again, this time with the Lord on his side. Here are a few things that this battle actually teaches us as the people of God:

1.) Not every battle is WON in “supernatural”ways.

Defeating Ai was not the same as defeating Jericho. This time there was not an unexpected trumpet blast and supernatural deconstructing of the city walls. The methods of attack and the defeat of Ai were more “normal”. Not every battle will be won using supernatural means.

2.) Every battle has a SPIRITUAL element whether we realize it or not.

Even though the victory over Ai would come in “normal” ways, we should not mistake this battle a purely human or “natural”. We see this in the first attempt at destroying Ai - God’s demeanor and position is the deciding factor in the battle. In Israels first attempt at conquering Ai we see this worked out. There is a spiritual component to EVERYTHING in this life… every battle. Joshua would never defeat Ai on his own apart from God. We must be careful not to reduce to purely “natural” or “normal / earthly” things that in reality have a spiritual component to them. God is a part of ALL things in this world.

3.) God REDEEMS our past “losses”, and can even fold them into our current victories.

It is fascinating that the victory over AI with the Lord on their side comes to Israel through re-enacting their previous loss. They mimic their past attempt and even fake a scared retreat as a part of their plan. It might have stung a little bit - even though they were pretending - to run away as if being defeated. I am sure there were some nerves as well as “fresh wounds” from the defeat and loss of life that happened earlier because of Achan’s sin. In the end, Israel was confident in the Lord and could rest in that truth. Even if victory would come through mimicking their loss… things were different now… the Lord was WITH them.

We all have our fair share of “losses”… times we have been defeated. This is what it looks like to turn to the Lord, listen to his voice, and face the battles ahead of us again in renewed courage and strength. Remember those words from the Lord in Joshua 1: “be strong and courageous”. We need not be defined by our past defeats. Listen to the Lord and watch as he fights for you. Love you guys. - JDP