Getting It Right

And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you. Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you. Joshua 7:10-13 (KJV)

How do we overcome an enemy, whether spiritual or physical- such as the devils’ attacks of depression, fear, worry, rejection, pain, sickness? Why are we having to deal with them in the first place?

Israel had entered the Promised Land, and they were conquering their enemies and taking land. Then, they disobeyed God and, as a result, they could not stand before their enemies. Even a small group of the enemy was able to defeat them because they had disobeyed God and allowed something in that God had forbidden.

We can open a door to the enemy that we never should have opened. Sometimes it is a willful act, but we can also do it without realizing it. If you struggle to regain the victory in your life, examine your heart and your life to see if you have allowed someone or something in that is not supposed to be there. Ask the Holy Spirit to show it to you. If you have given something access that should not be allowed there, remove it, confess it, repent of it, and forsake it to get right with God and shut the door on the devil. It could be a person with whom you shouldn’t be affiliated, a song you shouldn’t have listened to, a phrase you shouldn’t have used, a place you shouldn’t have gone, a movie you shouldn’t have watched, or any such thing. Repent and turn away from it. Confess it to God and receive His forgiveness and cleansing.

Once you do, you will notice things start to improve. When we sin, we fight against God rather than fighting alongside Him. We can never win that way. But, when we turn away from anything that hinders us, we get it right with God and our path becomes much smoother.