Daily Devotional 08 - Addressing the Real Problem

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by Paul Chappell

Thursday, Oct 5, 2017
“And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.”

Joshua 7:10–12

I read about an irate woman who entered a bakery to register her complaint. “I sent my son in this morning to buy two pounds of cookies,” she said. “But I just weighed them, and there is only one pound. I think you should check your scale.” The manager looked at her for a moment and then replied, “Your son carried the cookies? Maybe you should weigh your son instead of the cookies.”

Many times when there is a problem we look for the solution in the wrong place. When the Children of Israel were defeated in the battle at Ai, Joshua turned to pray. While that may seem like the right place to look for the solution, God told him to get up and deal with the sin in the camp. The root of the problem was Achan’s sin in taking spoils of war from Jericho which God had reserved for Himself. Until that problem was addressed, no progress could be made.

The reality is that many times we would rather pray or perform some other religious activity instead of confronting a sin, especially in our own lives. Too often we try to “make up” for our sins, not by confessing and forsaking them, but by service in some other area. God does not work on the barter system. He freely forgives our sin and by grace draws our hearts back into right fellowship with Him. But pretending as if sin does not exist is not a valid option if we want a close relationship with God and His power on our lives.

Today’s Growth Principle:

Guard against going through religious motions while avoiding confessing and forsaking sin.