Judges 6:12-16 - When the angel of the
LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you,
mighty warrior." "But sir," Gideon replied, "if
the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when
they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has
abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian." The LORD turned to him and
said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?" "But Lord, " Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family." The LORD answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together."
They had begun to worship other gods again…and
God had allowed the people around them to rule them once more. The conditions were so bad that they made
shelters in the mountain caves…and hid crops so they would have food. It must
have felt very strange to Gideon…to see that angel….to hear the words, “The
Lord is with you.” How could he believe those words...how could he grasp the
truth that God had never left them?
Gideon was beaten down…all he could come up
with were excuses…but God just gently told him again that he was sending him….he
was with him…and he would not have to do this job alone. God did not give him
all the answers he sought…just told him to get to work….to trust that God had a
plan. He said they would do it ‘together.’
That’s how it is sometimes…we see ourselves
in a hole so deep we are sure we can never climb out. We hear God calling us…so
sure we are not ready to do any job for him…we call out our excuses….hoping he
will change his mind and pick someone else. But God just smiles at us…and waits
on us to start crawling out of the hole…and then he sends a helper or two…and
before you know it you are out of the hole looking back in disbelief that you
ever made it out at all.
And like these Israelites…we cycle through these
periods of peace and oppression…full trust in God and weakness in our flesh.
And God never leaves us…he just waits for us to call out to him for help. And
then he sends us a helper…to help us get back on track…to help us learn to lean
on each other and his love instead of our own strength.
Father..I thank you for your word that
reminds me to always call out for you. I
thank you for the story of Gideon….beaten down but never left alone. Thank you
for keeping people all around me to keep me strong and ever mindful of where
you have brought me….who have helped me to climb out of the hole life dug in
front of me. Help me to never forget that you are just a call away…whenever I
need you! Amen.
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