Yahweh said to Joshua, Get you up; why are you thus fallen on your face? Joshua 7:10 WEB

Joshua lay on his face before the Lord while praying. Israel had sinned and as a result, they had lost the battle at the small town of Ai. The first town that they had come to in the promised land was Jericho. The walls fell down after marching around it seven times, and it was not a difficult battle.

They were supposed to bring all the loot into the Lord's treasury, but a man named Achan took some of the loot, kept it for himself and the Lord withdrew from Israel. Where they had taken Jericho almost without a fight, the small town of Ai beat them and made them retreat.

When the Lord answered Joshua, it was basically 'Get up, make it right, and let's go forward!' God gave Joshua no time to lay there and dwell on the past mistakes and events that happened. They dealt with Achan and went and took the city.

Many times in my life, I have stumbled, turned back and wandered away from God. Each time after I returned and prayed, it was exactly like this: 'ok, now let's go forward!' God is always calling you into your future, into your destiny. The devil is always calling you into your past, reminding you of your mistakes, and giving you feelings of shame.

Your past is gone, so let it go. Today is the first day of the rest of your life and God has a plan for you, a destiny to fulfill. Don't live in your past mistakes, meditating on how much time has been wasted. When you dwell on those, you are siding with the enemy. Let this sink in: God talks about your future. The devil talks about your past.

Prayer: Father, thank You for all that You do for me. Draw my heart to You and give me the will to keep getting up when I stumble. Thank You for Your mercy. Lead me into all that You have for me, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.