K.P. Yohannan emphasizes the pervasive nature of sin, illustrating how it begins within an individual and spreads to affect others, much like ripples in a lake. He recounts the Israelites' journey to the Promised Land, where despite God's miracles, one man's hidden sin led to their unexpected defeat at Ai. This failure serves as a reminder that even small sins can have devastating consequences, weakening faith and leading to despair. Yohannan challenges listeners to reflect on their own lives, recognizing that seemingly minor sins can undermine their spiritual victories. He encourages sincere introspection and reliance on God to overcome these hidden struggles.

The sin which is conceived in a person does not stay within him; it affects others. Slowly it moves towards the people around him, to the society and to the country and attacks them severely and wipes them out. Sin works the same way as ripples in a lake when you throw a stone in it. After great difficulties and a laborious journey through the dessert for years, the Israelites reached the border of their Promised Land. God did many miracles for them. The wall of the city of Jericho collapsed. God was their front army and their rear army and fought for them. The whole nation was theirs. Blessing, peace, wealth – they had everything. They had every right to be happy (See Joshua 7). At the same time God gave them a command. “Beware of one thing when you conquer this land and start to live here. Don’t eye anything from this land; not gold, silver or any beautiful robe. Don’t take anything for yourself. Put everything in the fire and burn it.” But a person among them hid silver, gold and a beautiful robe from the plundered things. He didn’t take much; he took very little. But he did it. Even his family members were unaware of it. From the outside everything looked normal. Everything looked beautiful. Joshua, their leader, told them to go ahead and march to the city of Ai. Before attacking the city, he sent some of his people to spy on the city. They came back and informed Joshua, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to conquer it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there. We can easily conquer that city.” The Israelites, without much practice or planning, sent 3,000 soldiers to attack the city of Ai. They went there with ease. On their way they might have said,” What is this Ai city? We conquered the great city Jericho, and the walls of Jericho collapsed. Compared to that, this is kid’s play.” If you think humanly, it was extremely simple. But what happened when they reached there was something they never imagined. Ai city had very few people in it. But they overpowered the 3,000 Israelites and killed 36 of them. When this failure took place, the stone heart of the Israelites started melting like iron melts in acute heat. Their heart became weak like melted iron. Dear friend, have you been like this in face of some problems? You might have done great things through faith in God. But then you fail in the silliest thing of all. When we believe in Christ, we trust God to deliver us from great sins. But then the joyous experiences which happened at the beginning of our faith are lost. The sins which we consider simple destroy our entire life as they nest our heart. Are you crying because you can’t win over them? Think about it sincerely.