An Old Post for a New Day
In today’s devotion, Dianna Hobbs encourages you when disappointment makes it hard to try again. Revisiting Israel’s return to Ai, she offers uplifting insight for anyone weary of defeat.
(EEW Magazine Photo/Dan Wells, File)
I recently stumbled across a blog post I wrote years ago about a testimony a woman sent to our ministry. Thank God for the written record, right? At the time, she had been unemployed for a year and a half, had exhausted her savings and lost her home. For a while, she stayed with her son, then with a cousin, while searching desperately for work.
She had applied for more than 1,000 jobs. Imagine the emotional toll of sending out that many applications, hoping for an opportunity, and repeatedly coming away disappointed. Yet she continued searching, interviewing and praying.
Eventually, an employer invited her back for a fourth round of interviews. She gave a presentation that she felt had gone terribly. When the interviewers told her a decision would take another three to four weeks, her heart sank. She had heard enough discouraging news to fear what might come next.
But a few hours after returning home, her phone rang. She got the job! When she shared her praise report, she described crying in an airport while listening to one of my devotional podcasts. Throughout her ordeal, she had leaned on God’s Word for strength, especially during moments when she felt she could barely hold on.
I smiled as I read her testimony, thinking about everything that happened before that phone call. Eighteen months of uncertainty. More than 1,000 applications. Financial hardship. Disappointment after disappointment. By the time the job offer came, she had endured a season that tested her faith and her willingness to keep trying.
Thank the Lord He led me back to that message from almost ten years ago. I believe He wanted me to read it and share it again, because someone needs the message of that old post for a new day.
Perhaps you understand the kind of weariness she was feeling. You have prayed, made the effort, followed the advice, taken the necessary steps and watched things fall apart anyway. After enough disappointments, even the thought of trying again can feel overwhelming. Sometimes the hardest part of a setback is finding the courage to return to the place where you were defeated.
In that same post, I wrote about one of my favorite Bible stories. In Joshua 7, the Israelites suffered a crushing defeat at Ai, a small Canaanite city they expected to conquer with ease. They were coming off an extraordinary victory at Jericho, where God had brought down the city’s walls, and Israel was moving forward into the land He had promised them. At Ai, however, they underestimated their opponent, sent a relatively small fighting force and suffered a humiliating defeat. About thirty-six men were killed, and the surviving soldiers fled. Scripture says, “Wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water” (Joshua 7:5, KJV).
The Hebrew word behind “melted” is māsas (מָסַס, Strong’s H4549). It means to melt, dissolve, waste away or lose strength. The picture is something solid losing its form under heat, and the phrase “became as water” completes that image. Their hearts went from solid to liquid. Courage that once held its shape could no longer hold anything.
The same word appears earlier in the book to describe Israel’s enemies. In Joshua 2:11, Rahab told the spies that when Jericho heard what God had done for Israel, “our hearts did melt.” In Joshua 5:1, when the kings of Canaan heard that God had dried up the Jordan, “their heart melted.” By chapter 7, the word that once described the people afraid of Israel now described Israel. After one defeat, God’s people felt what their enemies had felt.
Joshua was devastated. He fell facedown before the ark of the Lord, grieving and questioning what had happened. Then God revealed that Israel had violated His command concerning the devoted things taken from Jericho. A man named Achan had secretly kept items that were forbidden, bringing guilt upon the community. After the matter was confronted and judgment carried out, God instructed Joshua to return to Ai.
An old post for a new day.
They had already been to that military post and lost, so why return? God was about to do something new on the very ground where they had been defeated. In Joshua 8:1, the Lord told Joshua, “Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai” (KJV).
The Hebrew word for “dismayed” is chathath (חָתַת, Strong’s H2865), which means to be shattered or broken down. God’s instruction spoke directly to the condition His people were in. Before He sent them back to Ai, He addressed the fear that had melted their hearts and the defeat that had broken them down.
This time, when God called Joshua to get up and move forward, He gave him a different battle strategy. Joshua organized an ambush, positioned troops behind the city and drew Ai’s defenders away from their stronghold. When the moment came, Israel captured the city and defeated the enemy that had previously sent them running. That old place where Israel had experienced defeat became the setting of a new victory.
For someone reading, God is leading me to remind you not to let a painful experience change the way you approach the next opportunity. A failed relationship can make us hesitant to trust. A disappointing medical report can leave us anxious about future appointments. A financial setback can make us question whether stability is possible. Numerous rejections can wear our faith down and cause us to doubt. An unanswered prayer can leave us afraid to ask and hope again. Over time, we may begin treating previous outcomes as predictions of what will happen next.
The woman who wrote to our ministry all those years ago had no guarantee that her next interview would lead to employment. She couldn’t have known that the presentation she believed she had ruined would be followed by a job offer. She simply continued doing what she could while trusting God to sustain her.
Faith does not give us control over every outcome. We can pray earnestly, make wise decisions and still encounter delays, losses and closed doors. God has not promised that every second attempt will succeed or that every difficult situation will resolve according to our preferred timetable. He offers His presence, wisdom and strength for the journey, along with a promise that in due season we will reap if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9).
If you have been discouraged by repeated setbacks, allow yourself to receive this encouragement today. The God who sent Joshua back to Ai and gave him victory at that old post is able to do the same for you.
Won’t you trust Him and take refuge in Him today?
To help you, I’m adding a promise as the sweetener in your Cup of Inspiration today: “How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you” (Psalm 31:19, NIV).
As you drink down the contents of your cup, may this word cultivate a new mindset in you. May it cause you to rise up, take refuge in the Lord and trust Him for the new, exciting blessings that lie ahead. Trust His goodness even while questions remain unanswered. Let His Word restore the hope that disappointment has worn thin.
I believe with all my heart that the God who loves to do new things is giving you new mercies, fresh favor and unprecedented blessings according to your faith.
Now, let’s pray.
God, thank You for reminding me that You are the God of new things. Please help me not to allow old outcomes, failures, setbacks or rejections to stop me from believing You for fresh favor. Renew my strength, restore my hope and revive my courage to believe for greater once again. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!
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