RUN LIKE A CHAMPION

At times,  God allows us to taste the sweetness of victory. We see His hand of protection and provision. A goal is accomplished. Or a besetting sin is overcome. Victory is there, and we savor the moment. The question then arises: What next? Where do we go from here? How do we walk in that victory? How do we maintain that same dependence on God that we had in the battle just fought?
Joshua must have asked all those questions. He had experienced a great victory at Jericho, only to experience defeat at Ai. After he repented and led the children of Israel to repentance, he led them to capture Ai. Now that he had seen another victory, what would he do differently than he had done after the victory at Jericho? He must have known this was a critical moment. Defeat often shows its head right before or after a great victory. Joshua knew he must take care in what he did after the victory at Ai.
The Bible says he assembled the people and built an altar. “Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel” (Joshua 8:30). The first act after victory was an act of worship. Joshua knew his own focus in their victory at Jericho and Ai had been completely upon God. Therefore, he immediately led the people to get their focus also on God. Too often we take our focus off the victor and onto the victory. The source and sustainer of every victory in the believer’s life is God Himself. We must take care not to get caught up in the victory, but remain focused on the victor.
Central to the worship of God is the Word of God. So Joshua “read all the words of the law — the blessings and the curses — just as it is written in the Book of the Law” (Joshua 8:34). Joshua took the children of Israel back to their roots. He read them what God had said in the past and reminded them that God had not changed. He read them “all the words of the law.” I’m convinced that after a great victory we too must immediately turn to the Word of God. God’s Word not only leads in the path of victory, but also keeps us on the path of victory.
Joshua, through the Word of God, reminded the people of the choice they must continually make. There were blessings to be received, but also potential curses. The choice belonged to them. If they kept their eyes on God and obeyed His Word, there were yet more blessings in store. But if they took their eyes off God and disobeyed Him, there were curses in their future. The choice was simple. Their recent victory didn’t exempt them from any future curse. They had experienced victory, but it was imperative that they continue to walk in victory.
There was one final note about Joshua’s  day-after-victory experience. He not only worshiped God and reminded the people of the Word of God, but he was also very careful in his handling of the Scriptures. He didn’t pick and choose verses that would make the people feel good. He also read and reminded them of the difficult things. The Bible says, “There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the aliens who lived among them” (Joshua 8:35). It’s often the case that after a great victory, we want to pat each other on the back, talk about how great we are, and revel in all we’ve accomplished. But Joshua reminded them of everything that God had said: the great blessings and the terrible curses, the wonderful promises and the solemn judgments. He told the whole story, not part of it. That’s the secret to victorious leadership.