(August 26, 2023) Angeline Selvakumari encourages troubled hearts…

2023! So far, for some this has been the worst year of their lives; for others, it has been the most productive!

We need to remember that in every situation God is good! That He can make all things (the good, the bad, and the ugly) work for good– if we keep our hope, trust, and confidence in Him. In His timing, everything will turn out to be a blessing because He is a faithful God and a good heavenly Father.

I would remind readers of the Joshua 7:25-26 incident that happened in a particular valley – a very sad story. A whole family was stoned to death, remains burned in fire and the Israelites called it the Valley of Achor – ‘trouble’ or ‘affliction.’ It was known for failure, curse, death, destruction, and disappointment.

Are you are in some kind of sad valley right now, where everything is dead or lost and nothing is working for you? Are you on the verge of giving up, that there’s no point in persevering, no way forward?

I have good news for you: God promised that the valley known as a symbol of failure and destruction would became ‘a door of hope’ (Hosea 2:15)! And I pray that He will make your life more colourful and meaningful – that you’ll know God can do great things out of nothing!

To understand the significance of the Valley of Achor, we need to recall Israel’s previous battle with Jericho. For Israel’s new leader this was a significant victory for Joshua as well as them. Through something beyond their comprehension, they were able to experience God’s supernatural power. The victory was beyond human effort. They witnessed God fighting for them!

Sadly, having experienced that great victory, they became complacent – just like we do at times! We receive God’s blessing, get comfortable relishing in it, and tend to forget who was the source! And… we don’t realise that same blessing could become a snare.

Falling before God
Israel, after the great victory that they had won against powerful Jericho, decided to fight Ai, a relatively small, insignificant city.

Forgetting that their previous victory came from God, not their strength, they foolishly didn’t seek Him. This battle turned out to be a great disaster!

About three thousand men went were routed by the men of Ai, who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. And their hearts melted in fear (Joshua 7:4-5).

Joshua just couldn’t understand what went wrong! So he went to God and fell flat before the ark (v6), seeking the reason for Israel’s defeat.

Special prayer place
When faced with struggles, battles, and pains that we can’t handlethere is no better place to be, than in the presence of God. Sadly, many times we forget this precious place and decide to speak to our friends and family, and call ministers.

Now there’s nothing wrong with that – but the first place to be is at Jesus’ feet!

• Mary knew this very well (John 11:32)!
• Likewise the Canaanite woman, seeking her daughter’s healing (Matthew 15:11).
• It’s better to fall at His feet than a man or woman’s and say, ‘Lord, I will not leave you until you do something in my life.’

If you’ve been praying for God to change something in your life, before asking God to change our circumstances first ask Him, ‘Lord, what do you want to change in me?’

God told the searching Joshua, ‘Israel has sinned! … That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies…’ (Joshua 7:10-12). The Lord was very direct in giving the reasons for Israel experiencing its catastrophe – disobedience by one man caused the entire nations’ defeat. God’s instructions were not followed  completely.

Dear readers, obedience is an important element in keeping our lives aligned with God’s will and favour. Complete obedience is better than sacrifice! Partial obedience is complete disobedience!

God who sees everything told Joshua what Achan had done that had displeased Him so much. Joshua quickly confronted this disobedient Israelite… and there are lessons here for us! First is this – If God has asked you to do something, don’t hesitate or doubt. And don’t act impartially!

The Valley of Achor is a symbol of –
1. Humiliation and disgrace
God’s instruction regarding Jericho was very clear. He said, ‘… abstain from the cursed things, lest you become cursed when you take of (them) and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it’ (Joshua 6:18NKJV).

But Achan decided to take things that looked beautiful in his sight, and not only that, but also hid them as well (Joshua 7:21). And God was really angry with him!

Achan’s covetous decision had a serious consequence – humiliation and disgrace not only to him but on his entire family to the extent that his wife and children suffered death for their father’s sin! The whole family was stoned to death in the Valley of Achor in front of Israel.

Everything that we do in secret has serious consequences outwardly. Let us be careful what we do in secret. ‘For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil’ (Ecclesiastes 12:14). Dear reader… take a minute to take this as an opportunity to ask for God’s forgiveness, so that our children do not be affected by our secret actions.

• Look at this story from Achan’s family’s perspective. What would his children and wife have been thinking? Nothing is said about their participation in this sin.
• What if one fine morning, you were singled out by your church say, and accused, humiliated, and put to shame for something you were not part of? You’d be thinking ‘I’m in this situation because of someone’s fault. Why should I be penalised? Why isn’t God doing something about it?’
• So, for the benefit of doubt, let’s take it for granted that Achan’s family were not aware of it.

However… on the other hand, perhaps Achan’s family did know something – they may have seen that he was hiding something but kept quiet about it, thinking, ‘Why should we bother?’ This is called silent participation. We need to understand that we cannot keep quiet when things are done against the Lord or His desires, we must stand up for what is right.

Achan’s sin had a profound impact on the whole community! A reminder that because of disobedience in the garden of Eden the whole world was impacted.

Our actions can have a huge domino effect! Our decisions, and disobedience can have a great impact on future generations. Praise God for the cross of Calvary! As Paul wrote, ‘For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous’ (Romans 5:19). That ‘obedient man’ was Jesus! Thank God that His obedience brought us salvation!

2. Hidden sin
Achan’s disobedience led him to hide his sin. No one knew what he did. But God did! The Lord knows everything, as David acknowledged in Psalm 139.

When we hide our sins, it has a serious consequence and will be brought to light. ‘My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes’ (Jeremiah 16:17).

God knows our hidden secrets. We need to spread them out before the Lord. His grace is more than sufficient so that we will not be dealt with like Achan. If we want to move away from the place of defeat, humiliation, and embracement, we need to come clean before God. Be honest with God; unlike the Old Testament days, we have the blood of Jesus that will intercede for us and wash us – if only we ask.

Please… let us examine ourselves.

• Do we have hidden sins in our lives?
• How do you spend your time?
• What do you do when no one is watching?
• What kind of programs do you watch on your phone or TV?
• Are you spending more time with social media rather than having time with God?
• Are you talking about our problems, or are we claiming our promises?
• Do you have a secret life? What we do behind locked doors matters!
• It is time to have a heart-to-heart talk with God, to read God’s word more and pray more.

God also knows the good desires of our hearts. The internal motivation behind what and why we do everything to bring light – even what is in the dark

3. Hope and new beginnings
The Valley of Achor, that symbol of disaster, became a symbol of not only hope but new beginnings.

Once Achan’s sin was dealt with, He was no longer angry with Israel and God restored His favour. Israel went on to win over Ai under God’s leading… and receive His promise of ‘There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt’ (Hosea 2:15).

The door of hope became a place of blessing to Israel. And we are so blessed by the cross of Christ and don’t have to bear the punishment of sin. When we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive us. 

Are you thinking you have come to a dead end; there’s no way out; no hope; everything around is so negative; you’ve heard or read a very depressing message; you think this is the end, a full stop!

Jesus came into this world to make impossible things possible. Dead people were raised to life; closed eyes were opened; multitudes were fed; storms were calmed… where there was (is) no way, He was (is) able to make some!

Are you feeling completely hopeless? I have great news for you. The Lord will lift your head in the same place where you were put to shame. He will exalt your horn and anoint your head with oil in the presence of your enemies. But… for that to happen, we need to do something wise! We must be honest with God, declare whatever is not pleasing in His sight, and ask for His forgiveness and help so that we don’t repeat them again and again.

Once our relationship with God is made right, He will change your full-stop into a comma, your story will continue with exciting, new pages written by our Lord. All that you lost will be restored when your relationship with Him is restored.

The same place of unrest and pain (your Achor Valley) will become a place of rest when you seek the Lord. ‘… the Valley of Achor (becomes) a resting place for herds, for my people who seek me’ declares (Isaiah 65:10).

The journey from our Valley of Achor to the Door of hope is a journey from –

• Humiliation to hope.
• Brokenness to building something solid.
• Disastrous disappointments to a delightful destination.
• Troubles and problems to joining hands with God who gives us hope.
• Sorrows/sins/secrets to serene occasions for learning.
• Disobedience to obedience.
• Self-dependency to dependence on God.
• Repentance to restitution!

I pray that when you submit yourself today into the hand of God, He is  able to do more than what you ask and imagine. May your Valley of Achor become the Door of Hope in Jesus’ Name!

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Pastor Angeline Selvakumari is Chief Editor Echo of His Call, India’s Spiritual Newspaper, and Dr S Sam Selva Raj’s daughter. In furthering Echo of His Call ministries, established 1969, Dr Sam is daily broadcasting 5-minute messages in Hindi, Tamil and English on YouTube, trusting the Lord to provide for the costs. Links: OnlinerConnect@gmail.com
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