Building a Faith-Filled Family: Lessons from Joshua on Obedience and Faith
The path to building a strong, faith-filled family requires intentional choices between obedience and disobedience, between walking in faith versus failure. Through examining the stories of Joshua and the Israelites, we can learn valuable lessons about leading our households in faithfulness.
What Separates Faithful Families from Those Headed for Failure?
The key difference lies in how families approach obedience to God. Faithful families:
Make prayer and Bible reading a regular household practice
Actively invite others into their home and community
Challenge each other to walk in faith
Stay proactive rather than reactive in spiritual matters
How Does Disobedience Impact the Whole Family?
The story of Achan in Joshua 7 demonstrates how one person's disobedience can affect an entire household:
His greed and theft led to defeat for all of Israel
36 soldiers died as a consequence
The nation became vulnerable to enemies
It damaged their relationship with God
What's the Difference Between Failure and Disobedience?
Failure is walking in darkness unaware
Disobedience is knowingly walking in darkness and choosing not to change
Failure becomes disobedience when we understand we're wrong but do nothing about it
How Can Families Return to Faith After Failure?
Pray for guidance as a family
Prepare your household for God's presence
Identify and remove things that don't honor God
Confess sins and seek forgiveness
Make intentional choices to walk in obedience
Life Application
This week, challenge yourself and your family to:
Set aside dedicated prayer time together daily
Identify anything in your household that needs to be removed or changed
Have honest conversations about areas where you need to grow in faithfulness
Ask yourself:
What steps am I taking to lead my family in faith?
What compromises have I been making that need to stop?
How can I be more intentional about creating a God-centered household?
Remember: Walking in faith may not keep us from failure, but walking in disobedience will absolutely lead us into it. Choose today to lead your family toward faithfulness.