Buoyed by their victory over Jericho, the children of Israel became guilty of EGO – they edged God out. Methodically, they followed God’s instructions to deal a deadly blow to Jericho and its massive wall of defence. When it was time to face Ai, they felt it was a little city and there was no need to mobilize all the army. By their calculations, a small number of them would overrun Ai in no time. It was a rude awakening when the men of Ai slew about 36 of them.
It is neither a crime nor a thing of shame to admit before God that you are weak. When you are weak in yourself that is when you are truly strong in the Lord.
There was a sharp contrast in the attitude of Judah under Jehoshaphat. Three nations – Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir – gathered against Judah. Jehoshaphat knew that they were outnumbered and outgunned. He realized that unless God came to their rescue, Judah would be levelled for good. He went to the Lord in prayer to declare their weakness. “We have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us”, he said. He further admitted before God that they had no idea of what to do. God gave him assurance of victory. At the end of the day, Judah did not lift a sword in the battle; the enemies helped to finish themselves. We anchored our previous meditation by saying that we need a level of destitution to qualify for help. That was what Jehoshaphat exhibited and received help. It is neither a crime nor a thing of shame to admit before God that you are weak. When you are weak in yourself that is when you are truly strong in the Lord.