O Lord, What Can I Say Since…?

“O Lord, what can I say since Israel has turned their back before their enemies?” Joshua 7:8
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Distraught, bewildered, embarrassed, and fearful, Joshua faced the defeat at Ai. He was confronted with leadership challenges that he did not think he would face after the reports from the spies.

Filled with mixed thoughts, Joshua did not stop to recall what the Lord told him about the accursed and banned items seized from the conquest of Jericho. Had Joshua thought about the consequences of disobeying the Lord, he might have concluded that someone had disobeyed God, and then subsequently tied it to the loss at Ai.

Now, Joshua wondered about the reputation of the Israelite army because they had run in defeat from so small a number of men compared to previous victories against greater armies.
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After he thought about the state of the Israelites, Joshua then thought of the Lord’s reputation and asked what the Lord was going to do for His great name.

We can relate to Joshua. Sometimes, when we’re confronted with unexpected defeat, we can wonder about our reputation, if we’ve jeopardized our perceived security, or even think about what others will say about the God we boast of and serve.

We, too, might ask, what can we say since the Lord allowed certain circumstances. It’s during those times that we need to take inventory. Inventory about our thoughts, actions, words, and how we are going to move forward.

The Lord never asked Joshua to say anything regarding His reputation or any other’s reputation concerning Ai. Joshua was now placing a new responsibility on himself that the Lord had not given him.
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As the Israelites’ leader, Joshua was to bring the children of Israel into the Promised Land. His leadership involved assuring that he followed the commands of the Lord, which included the ordinances for the Ark of the Covenant and proclaiming the Lord’s commands to the Israelites.

Joshua was to continue believing, proclaiming, and following the Lord’s commands no matter the difficulty he faced. This meant that he would need to discard the feelings of defeat and the care and concerns of what other nations would say and possibly do because of the Lord’s promise and command to be strong and courageous. This promise and command also included that Joshua would need to carefully do all that the Lord commanded.

The Israelites’ actions and defeat did not change who the Lord was. If Joshua focused on anyone other than the Lord, he would not be able to righteously lead the Israelites and deal with the root cause of the defeat at Ai.

Think of times in your life when you were more concerned about the defeat you experienced, the opinion of others, or their thoughts about God. Did you feel pressured or seek to hurry to do anything to make the pain of embarrassment or failure go away? Did it lead to you feeling obligated to have a response or explanation for the circumstances? Did it distract you from what the Lord called you to do? 

When you are faced with moments of wanting to know what to say when the Lord allows something unexpected or something that you don’t understand, continue to believe, say, and do what the Scripture says. 
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The Scriptures are the very words of God and are what God says about Himself. Believing, saying, and doing what the Scripture says will keep you in your calling and free from the pressures of the distractions to respond to your fears about the opinion of man.