Read Joshua 8:1-4 – Now the Lord said to Joshua: “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its cattle you shall take as booty for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it.” So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai; and Joshua chose thirty thousand mighty men of valor and sent them away by night. And he commanded them, saying: “Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready.” (NKJV)
Joshua has learned his lesson. This time, he will attack Ai with God’s instructions. This time, he will attack with a full army rather than only taking a few. This time, he will follow God’s explicit instructions and plan even though this city is so much smaller than Jericho. Wisdom means not making the same mistake twice. Each of us will make our share of mistakes in life. We simply can’t conquer our humanity enough to avoid failure altogether. But we do have the ability to learn from mistakes so we don’t stumble a second time. Those are life’s inexcusable mistakes. Repeated failures show us that we are not living intelligently, but letting our ego, our lusts or our desire for unhealthy things overpower our ability to think. Learn from your mistakes and you’ll gain wisdom. Otherwise you will remain locked in the same pattern.
– Dr. Mike Clarensau serves as Senior Director of the Healthy Church Network of the Assemblies of God.
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