Read: “And Joshua said, ‘Alas, O Lord God, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?’” (Joshua 7:7-9)
Reflect: Do you think you know better than God? That’s where we find Joshua in Joshua chapters 7 & 8. As Joshua mourned the loss of the men who were killed while spying out the land of Ai, he began to question God. In verse 7 Joshua not only asks God why he allowed this loss to happen, but then in verse 9, he also tells God that he fears that the name of the Israelites will be cut off from the earth. After that, he has the audacity to question what God’s plan will do for His name, as if God isn’t sovereign.
Appropriately, God sets Joshua straight by pointing out his and Israel’s sin. Just like Joshua, you and I have questioned God’s plan, have we not? How merciful we need our Lord to be when we have doubts in His plan. When we impertinently question our loving Father, the root of our problem is not God’s plan, but our sin of unfaithfulness. We are constantly inclined to lean on our own understanding rather than trusting our Savior. While God is not put off by our questions, let us not sin in them. No matter how unfaithful Joshua and the Israelites were, God was faithful. He saw them through to His glory and Israel’s good. Likewise, no matter how unfaithful we are, if we are in Christ, God will be faithful to us. We can always trust His deep plan even in our shallow sin.
Apply: In what ways can you rest on the promise that God will do what He says He will do?
Father, just like Joshua, I am inclined to doubt your goodness. Please change my heart. Help me to trust you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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