“Stop Crying… There’s a Battle to be Fought!”

In Joshua Chapter 7 we see that Joshua was going to fight with the king of Ai. Some of his men told him, “You don’t need a lot of men, let’s just take 3,000, we got this!” Little did Joshua know that the people had already sinned and God was not with them in the battle. When there is disobedience in our lives, don’t expect your prayers to turn out like you want them.

The men of Ai chased them and the Israelites ran “with their tails between their legs!” The “hearts of the people melted.” Joshua was so ashamed and so discouraged that he and his men put dirt on their heads and cried all night. Joshua told the Lord, “Why have you brought these people over Jordan to deliver us unto the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us?” And Joshua went on and on about how all the people of the earth would make fun of them and shame them.

The Lord told Joshua, “Get thee up! Wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?” God was saying, “It’s time to stop crying because there’s a battle ahead of you! Get up and get on your feet! There is sin in the camp and you must get rid of it! Then, get ready for the real battle!!”

When we are in a problem, we cannot feel sorry for ourselves nor blame it on God. It’s time to check our hearts and say, “Lord, search me and see if there is anything hindering my blessing?” Then, “get back up on your feet and prepare to battle the enemy!” You do this by praising Him by Faith!

We are all facing these difficult times. We must stop crying and whining about it. God will bring us through this because we have other battles to fight. God is saying, “Stop crying and whining! Get up on your feet! There’s a battle ahead and you are on the winning side!”

We will get through this, together! Sherry