Spiritual Nap

Scripture: Joshua 7 Key Verse: 7:7-11
Joshua said, "Almighty LORD, why did you bring these people across the Jordan River? Was it to hand us over to the Amorites so that they could destroy us? I wish we had been content to live on the other side of the Jordan! Lord, what else can I say after Israel ran away from its enemy? When the Canaanites and everyone who lives in the land hears about it, they will surround us and remove every memory of us from the earth. What will you do then so that your great name [will be remembered]?"
The LORD said to Joshua, "Get up! What are you doing bowing on the ground? Israel has sinned. They have ignored the requirements that I have placed on them. They have taken what I claimed for myself and put it among their own goods. They have not only stolen, but they have also lied."

Objective:
We see the aftermath of the fall of Jericho, but all does not go as planned. One man decided that some of the loot that was set aside for the Lord looked really nice, so he took it. The Lord held the entire people responsible for these actions. The lack of God's attention and the over confidence in the Israelites contributed to the smackdown they were handed in a much smaller city days later. This sets up the dramatic cry of Joshua to the Lord. God answers Joshua by saying, get up and do something about the sin in your people. I will help you. The man confesses to the crime and the punishment, although harsh to me, was given to him and his family.

Application:
About 6 blog posts ago i wrote about getting off the Waaa-mbulance, the Israelites needed to learn this lesson many times. You would think they would stop being so over dramatic when one thing happens that isn't good for them. It reminds me of my three-year-old daughter who is for the most part a pretty happy-go-lucky child until she gets a little tired, then she becomes an emmy award winning dramatic actress. She can throw herself to the ground in grief with the best of them. It is hard sometimes not to just sit back and laugh at the performance, other times it can be a bit frustrating.

We tend to do the same thing with God. When we are spiritually awake things tend to not affect us as much as they do when we get a little tired spiritually. When we are tired and haven't been spending time resting in the Lord we tend to lose it when bad things happen. We may even blame God. "Why did you let this happen to me?" Why do bad things always happen to me?"

Sometimes the things are bad, very bad, but other times in retrospect they were merely learning experiences that we can use to become better people. Maybe we need a Spiritual Nap, so we can wake up more refreshed and ready to go. God wants the best for us and will carry us through the bad things. All we need to do is clear out the sin in our lives and hold on tight.

Prayer:
Lord, Your grace is amazing. You never stop loving me even when I am angry and grumpy at you. You are still ready to receive me into your open arms. Help us rest in those arms, and clear out the sin in my life, so that we can awake refreshed and renewed.