What does God do with my failures?
In Joshua chapter seven we read the story of Achan. Israel just defeated Jericho and God told them to burn everything and not take anything for themselves but bring any gold and silver and bronze to the treasury of God.. Achan disobeyed God and took a Babylonian Robe, Gold, and Silver. He hid it in his tent. Then when they went up to fight against Aia, only a small city, they got defeated in battle. Immediately they were discouraged and rebelled against Joshua. Joshua asked God and God revealed that somebody trespassed and took what they were not supposed to take. They had all the families line up and eventually, it came out that Achan was the one that did it. So this is what happened.
Josh 7:24-26 And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones and burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.
So Joshua brought him and his family, everything he had and they stoned them. This is a horrible story about a whole family being destroyed because of one man’s sin. We have all failed in something. We have all done something wrong and even worse is the fact that sometime innocent people suffered because of our choices. The name of the place it happened was called the Valley of Achor. Achor literally means trouble.
We all have caused trouble for ourselves and others. We all have places called “Achor” in our lives. Something so bad happened that we never want to visit it again. We don’t want to talk about it, mention it or be reminded of it.
What does God do with those places in our lives? Here is the good news. We have hope because God is a God that specializes in redeeming people. He can even redeem mistakes. In the book of Hosea, God gives a promise. He speaks to Israel but I know God also wants to restore your disappointments. Hosea was the Prophet that called Israel back to God. His book is a book of hope for Israel. Here is what God wants to do for Israel.
Hos. 2:15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
God wants to change your places into places of Hope. What the enemy meant for bad, God wants to make a place of singing and joy. Remember when they left Egypt and they all sang because they have been delivered from slavery. God wants to set you free from the slavery that your valley of Achor had you in. He wants to bless you and set you free from guilt and shame.
That must give you a lot of Hope.
