Former president of America, Richard Nixon, wrote in his book, Six Crises: “The most difficult time of a crisis is preparing for it. The easiest time is during the crisis. The most dangerous time is after the crisis.”
Conquering Jericho was a crisis for the children of Israel. Preparing for the conflict was challenging. Marching around the city once each day for six days and then seven times on the seventh day was relatively easy. Not taking something from the captured treasure, which was to be devoted to God, was a great temptation, especially for Achan. He sinned by taking some of that treasure. His personal sin crippled the whole nation and led to their initial defeat at the hands of the insignificant army of Ai.
What we learn from this is that any sin in our lives which is not confessed will impair our spiritual growth and effectiveness. It’ll also impair the spiritual health and vitality of those associated with us: our family, our church, our ministry team. God demands sinless obedience.
This is not to say that we will be without any failure or sin in the future, but when we fail, we must readily confess our sin so God can forgive and restore. There are negative consequences even then, but their impact is diminished. The longer we hold on to sin, the greater the negative impact.
Never forget Achan’s sin and its effect on Israel. When the Spirit of God speaks to you about anything that’s out of harmony with God’s will, deal with it. Confess it to God so you can be forgiven. Don’t be a hindrance to your family, church or ministry.
