Turning Defeat into Victory

Introduction: In chapter 7 we see Joshua and his men getting routed by the men of Ai because of the sin of one man Achan who coveted and kept devoted things from the previous exploits, against the specific command of God to not do so. This defeat follows a grand victory God had given the Israelites when the walls of Jericho collapsed and the entire city was destroyed and every living thing in that city was put to the sword by the Israelites. Instead of this victory taking the Israelites to the next high, we find them falling into another low in their history- which is in line with the general pattern ie. Victory followed by pride by sin by judgment and then defeat. Though Achan’s sin was the immediate cause of defeat at Ai, this defeat also emanates from a sense complacency and self-dependence among the Israelites including their leader Joshua. In the previous chapters we see that Joshua sought the Lord at all times for all decisions in their life and never took any step without consulting God. In verse 2 of Chapter 7 we see Joshua sending out men to spy out the city of Ai but we don’t find him seeking God’s plan in this matter. Perhaps the victory over a stronger fortified city like Jericho made pride creep into their heads causing them to underestimate the prowess of the men of Ai. So when the spies returned and suggested that only about 2 or 3 thousand men are required to go up against Ai, Joshua readily agreed to their suggestions without even feeling it necessary to seek the will of God. Inevitably, Israelites were routed by the men of Ai with many of them getting killed. This defeat broke the Israelites and their hearts melted with fear. Joshua realized his mistake immediately and sought the presence of the Lord by falling face down before the ark of the Lord. He quickly realized that God is their Jehovah Nissi and without God they can achieve nothing. Later, in this chapter we see the Israelites ruthlessly dealing with the sin of Achan by wiping out his entire household. Chapter 8 is set against this background and a study of this part of the history of Israelites in general and Joshua in particular gives us some important principles for turning defeat into victory in our lives. We all commit mistakes in life and as someone has said – to err is human. But the grace God gives is to learn from these mistakes, repent and turn back into the purposes God has called each one of us. So let us begin to understand the nine principles we can learn from the life of Joshua and his men.

1. Return to Lord with repentance and brokenness:

In verse 6 of chapter 7 we see Joshua tearing his clothes and falling facedown to the ground before the ark of God and remaining there till the evening. When we commit mistakes and experience a consequent defeat in our lives, the first thing we need to do is to set our pride aside and humbly come back into the presence of the Lord. Not only should we come back but we should linger in the presence of the Lord till we find a direction from God. Joshua remained there till the evening. He did not give up but persisted till the Lord showed up in verse 10. Many of us who have experienced defeat and disappointments in life expect a quick answer from God and give up easily when no answer seem to be forthcoming. Whatever be the scale of our mistakes or transgressions, God’s Word promises that when we return to Him with repentance and brokenness, we will find God. In Isaiah 55:7 the scripture says- “Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.” In Joel 2:13 it says- “So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.”

Brokenness in our lives is what God desires. In Psalm 51:16 it says – “the sacrifices that God desires is a broken spirit and a contrite heart.” We need to understand that a state of “brokenness” is an integral and essential step towards your destiny. It is very much in the Godly order of things. God cannot use a man unless he or she passes through a state of brokenness at some stage in their lives. History is evidence to the veracity of this awesome statement. All our great fore-fathers- Abraham, Moses, David, Peter or Paul, were all broken, before God commissioned them for specific purposes in their lives. Unless we are prepared to be broken, we cannot expect to be used by God. That’s a bold statement and be sure it is not my own thought. In Mathew 26: 26 we find Lord Jesus himself laying down this principle. Mathew 26:26- “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Jesus has laid down an awesome principle here for all of us to understand and follow. He expects us to follow this principle because he applied the very same principle to himself first. So what is the order-

Took - The first step that God takes in our lives is when he takes us out of this world in whatever condition we were in. We were all wretched sinners and condemned to die. But God in his mercy chose us and set us apart. There is no room for any guilt or shame or inferiority complex because God has found us worthy to be chosen. Whatever be our past, there is no room for guilt or shame because we are now in God’s hands.

Bless - The immediate next thing that God does is that He blesses us and changes our destiny. Once we were doomed to die but now we have eternal life. We were all outside the door and a nobody but now were all inside and have been adopted as children of God. We have become heirs to the Kingdom of God and suddenly all rights of the children have been bestowed on us. Every promise given to the children of God in the Word becomes ours- not because we deserve it but because God in his mercy chose to do so.

Broke - We would all be happy if God had stopped at the second stage. But whether we like it or not God doesn’t stop there. He has to essentially break us if we have to have any chance of being used by God. Without the breaking process and the unlearning process we cannot expect to be used by God. All the baggage that we carry of our past- our prejudices, biases, strongholds, attitudes, likes & dislikes, sins etc need to be broken we have to stand any chance in the kingdom of God. Moses knew his destiny from his childhood and knew that God had called him as a deliverer of the Israelites. But, he was mistaken when he thought that all his royal upbringing and strapping would help him in achieving his purpose. Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and he was mighty in words and deeds. He thought these qualifications would entitle him to take matters into his own hand. He killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew but when he got exposed, he had to flee for his life. This followed a 40 year period of breaking, before God could take him to his destiny. Unless we are prepared to be broken we cannot expect God to use us.

Gave - And finally when we are broken and prepared by God, we become ready to be used as a blessing to other. Jesus broke the bread and gave to others. Our lives are not our own, it is meant to be a blessing for someone. We cannot simply eat, drink, be happy and die. Our lives need to be poured out for others. For this reason only God told us that we are a salt and a light and a city on the hill. It is not natural for us to just live for ourselves. It is not God’s plan for us to be self centered and remain focused our own lives only. Paul said about his own life in Philippians 2:17 “Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.” Abraham was blessed by God thus- you shall be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

Many of us would be happy with the first two stages- that of ‘taking’ and ‘blessing’ and some may be a bit more enterprising in going to the third stage of ‘giving’ by skipping the third stage of ‘breaking’. But my dear brothers and sisters- there is no way we can be used by God, unless we are prepared to be broken in the presence of the Lord.

2. Deal with Sin. (Joshua 7: 25-26)

Once we turn back and return to the Lord, we need to address the source and cause of the problem. We cannot continue to live with the problem and expect God to work in our lives. Sin issues have to be dealt with ruthlessly and like cancer it has to be surgically cut and removed. God can help to show us the problem but we alone have to deal with it. In chapter 7 we see God revealing to Joshua that the Israelites had sinned by taking the devoted things that they were not supposed to take. Instead of pronouncing judgment straight away, God asks Joshua and the leadership to deal with the problem. This is the principle that we need to learn. When we turn to the Lord and spend time in His presence, God’s Word and His Holy Spirit would well up in our hearts a new level of consciousness and understanding which would expose all the wrong things in our life. Once we reach this stage, God expects us to renounce such sins and deal with it ruthlessly. If we are struggling to know the cause

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