At the First Sign of Adversity...

Joshua said, "Alas, O Lord GOD, why did you ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan! -Josh. 7:7

After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, Israel had great momentum as they entered the promised land. Joshua was their new leader. They crossed the Jordan easily. They took their first city, Jericho, in a miraculous feat of trumpets and marching and yelling. They were ready to take Ai next.

So, Joshua sent men up to battle. But out of nowhere, Ai defeats Israel! What?! That wasn't in the plan—especially since God had already promised Israel to defeat Ai. What happened? Unbeknownst to Joshua, a guy named Achan had taken about $600 worth of gold and silver for himself back in Jericho. So, by the time Israel got to Ai, God was no longer honoring their efforts.

Now, what? Joshua's gut reaction is to jump ship. At the first sign of adversity, he is ready to quit. He cries out to God and basically accuses, "God, you punk, this never would have happened if it weren't for you...We never should have come over here in the first place!" But God's not having it. He responds pointedly, "Get up, deal with the sin, and go fight Ai again." So, Joshua went and found Achan, asked him what he did, stoned him in the sight of all Israel, went back, and captured Ai! Wow, that was a whirlwind of events...

Like Joshua, when we experience adversity, our gut reaction is to jump ship. We want to quit. We'll make some kind of excuse and go do something else. But, sometimes God wants us to stick to the plan. We have to get up, deal with the problem, and go fight again.