The Door in the Valley of Achor

Joshua 7-8; Psalms 69; 1 Corinthians 5 

“…’That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it’…Over Achan they heaped a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since.”

Joshua 7:13, 26

When secret sin is in our lives, we, too, cannot stand against our enemies. God’s call to us is that we, too, remove our secret sin, repent, renounce, and cry out to the Lord for mercy and forgiveness. The Lord’s fierce anger against sin is what nailed Jesus to the cross to pay the price for our rebellion. It is the cross which redeems and transforms our sinful heart into purity. God’s desire is to redeem even the most painful and shameful sin into a testimony of his mercy and forgiveness. In Christ, the “Valley of Achor”, or ‘trouble’, can become a doorway of hope (Hosea 2:15). In Christ, our sin-sick hearts can be transformed.

If we are in the “Valley of Achor”, can we see the door of hope?

Are we walking toward it?

His name is Jesus!

“Lord Jesus, you are my hope, my Redeemer, my Savior, and my Lord. Thank you, for your glory.”