Sometimes we may foolishly believe that we can harbor hidden sins in our lives and then face the enemy.

But, it is a fact that if we encourage sin in our lives, any kind of sin including disobedience and stubbornness, we will lose the protection of God and we will become vulnerable to the onslaught of the enemy.

An example of this was seen after Joshua and children of Israel destroyed the city of Jericho. The Lord forbid them to take any of the accursed things in the city (Joshua 7).

However, Achan became greedy and hid some of the spoils in his tent. The Lord became angry and punished the Israelites with an embarrassing defeat from the enemy.

When Joshua enquired of the Lord the reason for his defeat from such a small city, the Lord told him that the people had sinned because they took the accursed things in the land.

Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.

Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you anymore, except ye destroy the accursed from among you. (Joshua 7:11-12)

Joshua made a searched among the people and they discovered Achan. His excuse for taking some of the spoils was that he could not resist the expensive and beautiful Babylonian garments, the gold and silver. So he stole them and hid them thinking that God will not discover him.

So it is with some people. They cannot resist the worldly temptations. Hence, they become consumed with lust and greed. They covet, cheat and steal to acquire wealth. They believe that no one sees their actions.

However, God sees and He knows and He will expose them so that enemy consumes them if they do not repent.

Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, there is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies until ye take away the accursed thing from among you. (Joshua 7:13)

Let us examine our lives to ensure we are not hiding the accursed things of this world in our lives. Let us ask the Lord to search us and see if there are any wicked ways in us and purge us and lead us in His everlasting way (Psalms 139:23-24)

Get out of the valley of Achor (trouble, sorrow) and arise, go up and conquer Ai (city of ruins)!

Published by Beverley

Beverley has been serving the Lord since she was a child. At an early age, she recognized that God had a special plan for her life, but it was not until in her adulthood that she surrendered her total life to God and accepted the mandate that God placed on her life. The Lord called her into His Kingdom to be an encourager, intercessor, teacher, scribe, priest, and to proclaim the Word of God. Since then, Beverly has established a blog to teach us to become the oil and wine. The oil and wine are purified and mature products, which is the advanced level that the Lord expected of us. In 2017, Beverley published her first book, Harm Not The Oil And Wine. In it, she described her trials and how God helped her to overcome them, and to live more victoriously. The book also exposed the enemy of our souls with detailed information about his past defeats and future extinction. Wright spents most of her time studying the Bible to know the truth of God’s Word. She believes that only God’s truth can expose the deception of the enemy, and uproot and tear down spiritual strongholds. You can learn more about Beverley’s life and testimony on her website becomingtheoilandwine.com. You can also find her on Facebook and Google+ under the name of her blog, and on Twitter as @Theoilandwine. View all posts by Beverley