Contentment ~ Could it be Sin?

So, this is the last of the 4 books in the Godly Woman's Adornment set. Contentment, so far I really like this book, just like all of the other books, a lot of wonderful words of encouragement, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.




Contentment ~ Could it be Sin?

Joshua knew better, of course. He knew that God had brought the Israelites into the Promise Land to bless them, not to destroy them. But he was frustrated because they had just lost what should have been an easy-to-win battle against the Amorites. What was God doing?
We find ourselves in similar situations from time to time, and when we do, we, too, are baffled about what God is up to. We are careful to follow God's ways, and we believe his promises, and yet our circumstances are just not working out. In the midst of his discouragement, Joshua wished he had never taken his preceding steps of risky faith. How much easier life was before! In the moment he forgets that trust in God's faithfulness and his joy in the Promised Land are obliterated by one defeat.
Our contentment evaporates just as quickly when things go wrong in our lives. We begin to think back on an easier time, a time that, while perhaps not perfect, held a lot less pressure.
For Joshua, the Promised Land was surely much nicer than the wilderness, but at least in the wilderness someone else-Moses-had been in charge. now Joshua was leading the Israelites, and the weight of the Amorite defeat fell squarely on his shoulders. but God had a reason for the defeat, and rather than allowing Joshua to wallow in misery, he answered his cry. "Get up!" the Lord said. "why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned.... 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" Joshua 7:10, 13). Unbeknownst to Joshua, an Israelite named Achan had failed to follow God's express orders to destroy all the treasures, the "devoted things," taken from their enemies in battle. Achan kept back a little of these riches for himself, and his secretive act was what had brought great trouble on the entire Israelite army.
Could our present trial be the result of sin? If so, we won't have to look far to find it. We don't have to engage in endless speculation about what our sin might be; God is always willing to show us our sin. Sometimes, though, we refuse to see it, or we minimize it. "Well, I am still struggling to give up that bad habit, but it's such a little thing. How could that have anything to do with my difficulty?" But God does not ask us to connect all the dots. He just asks us to be obedient. If there is a connection, God will make it, just like he did with Joshua. Maybe there is a connection between our unrepentant sin and our difficulty, and maybe not. The point isn't to figure out if there is a connection and then to obey-it is simply to obey. We cannot rightly ask for or expect to be restored to a place of peace and to see God's blessings on our lives if we are treating sin lightly.
Are you finding your circumstances frustrating right now? If so, God has a good reason. Perhaps it is his way of getting you to deal with your sin. Rather than turning back to an easier time in your life, turn to God and examine your heart. he will gladly show you sin that you may be harboring. He showed Joshua, and Joshua purged out the wrong with no delay. Afterward victory against the Amorites came easily.

God Bless you all,
Abigail Prudence