We serve an awesome God. He looks beyond our faults and sees our needs. However, I caution the people of God not to be deceived; for as much as He loves us, He still holds us accountable for our sins. We must pay a penalty. The Word of God is clear in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life.”  We must face the consequence for our sins. In fact, I would argue that whenever we sin, we should feel remorse. If we confess our sins, He is willing to forgive us. In Joshua 7:13, we find these words:

“Get up! Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Hidden among you, O Israel, are things set apart for the Lord. You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you.”

God commands Joshua to rid the nation of the wrong things they have done and continue to do. Reading this chapter will reveal how God deals with sinful ways. Let me pause here to say that instead of blaming God for the punishment that we receive, we need to blame ourselves and hold ourselves accountable for our behavior. The consequences we face as a nation and a people is due to our own sinful ways. My grandmother would say that you cannot do wrong and get away with it. God has a way of bringing the truth to light. Many of us have lost our reverence for God. We must remember that the Lord will have the final say. We cannot do wrong and get away with it. Our sins will catch up with us. Today, we should bring our sins before the Lord and ask for His forgiveness, rather than receive His judgment.