Joshua 7:1  But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things.  And the anger of the Lord bruned against the people of Israel.

The people of Israel were all of a sudden realizing that everything was going wrong!  They had just had a mighty victory at Jericho and had God’s favor and then everything changed. They sent men up to Ai which was a smaller city and they ran from them and 36 men lost their lives.

Do you feel as though you have lost God’s favor?  Are you struggling on a daily basis trying to survive while everything seems to be going wrong?  That is how the Israelites felt and Joshua was so distraught he tore his clothes and fell on his face on the ground.  The problem was there was hidden sin in the camp and it was affecting the entire camp.  Hidden sin leaves open doors in your families lives, it doesn’t just affect the person doing it, it affects everyone.  If you can’t figure out why you seem to feel as though God’s hand of discipline seems heavy on your household it may be time to pray and ask God to reveal to you any open doors within your household. God’s response to Joshua when he threw himself on the ground was this (Joshua 7:10-13) The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.Get up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, God of Israel, “There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.”

There is still victory to be had in your life but you must close any doors that have been opened to Satan in your home.  My husband wrote a blog that covers how to cleanse your home that you may want to read.  Pray and ask God to reveal truth in your family and pray for Him to show you anything that has left a door open to Satan’s attacks.  God is a God of light and truth and He will show you what you need to know.  His desire for you and your family is for you to have victory in every area of your life so you can better serve him.

Thank goodness we don’t live in the days of Achan where he and his children were put to death for his sin.  We live under God’s grace because of the price Jesus paid and that is why we can cleanse our homes and have victory.  There are still consequences for sin and often those consequences seem grievous  but we can still find victory through Jesus!

I challenge you today ladies to get to the bottom of it and ask God to show you any areas that need to go or need to change in your home.  Ask Him to reveal anything that shouldn’t be there.   Sometimes it can be as simple as a bad collection of movies, books, magazines or music that need to be tossed, other times there may be hidden sins that need to be brought to light and dealt with.  It could be a combination of things but trust me God will reveal anything that is causing a problem in your walk with Him and disrupting your home.  God loves you and He loves every member of your family and He wants that relationship restored to Him.

Quote:  “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”  Chinese Proverb