That's A Wrap: Learning to Get Up and Try Again

\Joshua 7:1-10, 8:1

1. Don't Be Surprised. Joshua had experienced extraordinary success, (Crossing the Jordan, defeating Jericho) but no one is immune to times of failure, defeat, and falling down in life. Joshua (and Israel) failed miserably at Ai, You are no different, don't be surprised when discouragement rears its ugly head.

2. Don't Go it Alone. As with Joshua, we often experience our biggest failures shortly after our biggest victories. Why? Because we forget to look to God who provided the victories, just as Joshua did in his first encounter with Ai.

3. Be Sure to Fall Down. Before you try to get up be sure to fall down...before God. Falls and failures in life come for various reasons. Not all of them are our fault. Not all the reasons are even in our realm of perceived control. No matter the reason, like Joshua, be sure to turn your attention and questions to God. Fall down before him and allow him to examine your life and show you the truth.

4. Believe God. Joshua surely did not like what he heard about sin in the camp of Israel being the reason for their failure at Ai. Yet he believed God and followed his instructions, (no matter how difficult it may have seemed) and in doing so rooted out the thing that was causing his failure. We must do the same, honestly face the inspection of the Lord and humbly repent and confess our wrongs to Him

5. Get Up! God told Joshua to get up and follow his plan for a resolution. No matter what the reason or how we have fallen and failed, it is not God's will for us to stay on the ground. It is His will to move forward in victory. In truth it is God that gives us the strength and ability to get up, but we must demonstrate the resolve to actually stand up.

6. Get the Lesson! While Joshua and Israel were forgiven they built a memorial so that they would remember the disobedience and sin that caused their failure, so that in remembering they would not make that mistake again. While God forgives us, we must remember the lessons that we have learned.

7. Get Over It! God instructed Joshua to move forward by faith without fear or discouragement. We too must move forward, remembering we are forgiven by God and therefore we can forgive ourselves for our shortcomings and failures. Everyone fails in life, learn from it and get over it quickly. The test of a Christian's character is not if he fails or how often he fails, but how quickly he repents and starts again.

8. Get All In! One of the mistakes of Joshua was to only commit part of His resources to accomplishing and serving the Lord! God told Joshua to take all the people to defeat Ai. Joshua obeyed and God provided what He had promised. We must do the same! In Serving the Lord we must give our all. He will give us all the strength that we need for His will to be carried out, Keep nothing back and claim the promise of victory according to the will of God!