Stop...Pause..And Listen To God's Solution To Confrontation

Judges 8:1-3 - Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon, “Why have you treated us like this? Why didn’t you call us when you went to fight Midian?” And they challenged him vigorously.  But he answered them, “What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren’t the gleanings of Ephraim’s grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer?  God gave Oreb and Zeeb, the Midianite leaders, into your hands. What was I able to do compared to you?” At this, their resentment against him subsided.

The tribe of Ephraim was upset with Gideon for his failure to ask them to help him fight.  Their argument was on based on jealously…..they didn’t really care about the victory…just that they would not receive any of the glory from it.  Gideon carefully worded his reply to them in a compliment of what they accomplished on a daily basis.  He turned what could have been a huge argument into a peaceful discussion of their many talents,

It is a great reminder to me that our response to confrontation could bring peace…if we use Gideon’s approach. Gideon had not been instructed by God to rebuke their attitudes… so he simply didn’t engage in the posed argument.  Someone in his upbringing had taught him to strive for a simple peaceful solution when confronted with opposition… helping him think of the positives to fuel his answer.

It reminds me also of the way Jesus treated the lady caught in adultery the leaders of Israel brought to him.  They were not interested in the soul of that woman...they were using her to trap Jesus. He knew the perfect way to diffuse the angry crowd they managed to create around her….he quietly wrote in the sand ….perhaps just to pause the crowd and get their attention. Then he told them that the one among them that was sinless could throw the first stone. I would have been one of the ones walking away from that scene…..in deep reflection of all my own sin.

It seems like it would be easier to stop and pause…listening for God’s answer to the confrontation.... instead of letting the situation dictate my response. I don’t have to have paper …or pen.  I just need a heart that is ready to listen and let God tell me what to do.

Father…thank you for the reminder to work toward peace in this sinful world. Forgive me for the times that I have escalated an argument with my own prideful thoughts.  Help me to always stop and pause….and let you form a peaceful answer in my heart.  Amen.

My Weakness... Plus God's Grace..Equals God's Greatest Power

Judges 7:2 -   The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’ 

God had called Gideon to lead Israel out of captivity…but before he went into battle God had a very important lesson to teach him about his power to use him in great weakness.  He took 30,000 men with him to fight…but God weeded out 27,000 of them.  He wanted Israel to know that their God was the winning factor in the battle…so none of them could boast in their own strength.

There are many scriptures that explain God’s reasoning for this….one of my favorites in 2 Corinthians 12:9.  Paul understood the power of God so well that he boasted about how God overcame in weaknesses with these great words…. “But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.”

In able for God to truly use us…we have to empty ourselves out of our own power.  That was one of the things Christ had to do on that cross.  He had the power within himself to save himself…but he gave that power over to God…so that a greater power could win victory over the power of sin in our lives. If we learn to do the same…to give over any strength we think we have over our lives to God…and allow him to use the weakest things about us to show his power…there will never be any question that what was accomplished was from him. 

It sure gives this old woman….weak in more than one way…a big boost in confidence this morning. It fuels a passion deep inside me…to keep searching for God’s will… so he can use me … even in ways that I was never trained.  When I allow him control over my weaknesses…he can use them in supernatural ways that the world can only assume was truly God at work within me.

Thank you father for the reminder that you use my weaknesses for your glory even better than the strengths you have created me with. Forgive me for the times that I let my feelings of weakness stop me from being obedient.  Help me to overcome any feelings of inadequacy with the thought that you can use these weaknesses to do great and mighty things to spread your gospel. Help me to embrace my weaknesses…so you can fill that weakness with a dose of your grace… and help me be my best versio of who you created me to be.  Amen.

God Uses All Our Questions And Weaknesses For His Good If We Are Obedient

Judges 6:15 – 18 -   “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but 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, leaving none alive.”  Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.”

Israel had cycled once again into a time of rebellion against God…forgetting his power …trying to find their needs met by the other gods around them. So God allowed their choices to result in another time of captivity. It took only 7 years this time for them to realize their need to have God in their life again.

God began to speak to man named Gideon… a man by his own omissions… that was from the weakest tribe of Israel….and the least of his own clan. He was bold with the angel that came to deliver the news that God was going to put him in charge of the army…and send him to fight against their latest captors.  He asked why….and lifted up a few excuses…even boldly asked God twice for signs that it really was God …asking him to do something so out of the realm he ever thought his life would take him.

It is a reminder to me that God can use anyone to do his work. Many times are recorded in our Bible where God used prostitutes like Rahab…murderers like Moses…. and runaways like Jonah to do mighty things. The signs that God was really in charge were all different….but the results after each one believed and became obedient were the same. 

It’s also a reminder that it is okay to ask God questions…to ask him to manifest his love in such a tangible way to our hearts that we become passionate to share his love and truth with the world.  God knew the questions…the excuses…the doubts we had before we even realized we had them. He was working a plan to solidify our faith even before we knew that we needed it.

Father…thank you for the reminder that you choose to use the weakest of people to do your work. Thank you for the love that is so patient with us that you listen to our questions…even sending us signs of your existence to help us understand. Forgive me for the times that I let my excuses and lack of confidence keep me from being obedient.  Help me to recognize the signs you send to solidify my faith...and the still quiet voices you send to tell me what to do.   Amen.

Speak God's Positive Power Over Negative Thoughts

Judges 5:31 - “So may all your enemies perish, Lord! But may all who love you be like the sun when it rises in its strength.”   Then the land had peace forty years.

Deborah and Barak sang a long song to celebrate the victory God had given them over king Jaben.  The song celebrated all that God had done for them during the battle…despite their rebellion for the years they were in captivity. It praised God for his use of Jael… to end the life of this king that held them captive for so long.

The end of the song held the sweetest blessing for the future. It claimed victory over all their enemies….and blessings for those that continued to love the Lord. The blessing was compared to the strength of the sun…as it rose in the sky each day and gained intensity upon the land…it would reach full power at noon.

What great analogy of how our life with God is supposed to grow in strength every day we know him. Deborah and Barak model for us a simple way to speak God’s power into our life.  They claimed the positive forces of God to protect them from slipping quickly back into their rebellious attitudes. It worked so well they enjoyed 40 years of peace with God this time.

Even though it sounds like a simple thing to do… the negative thoughts seem to win in my head most days. I needed the reminder to speak life over each one with a positive thought…so God can bury the negative we feel rising up in us. It couldn’t hurt to find a scripture that matches our positive thought… so God can begin to build a fortress of strength that even satan can’t penetrate with any more negativity that might interfere with our growing faith.

Father…thank you for your power that can help me overcome my feelings of worry and frustration over the worlds crazy and deteriorating condition.  Forgive me for the times that I have allowed any negative thought to cause me to weaken the faith and courage you are trying to build in me. Help me to use the positive thoughts in your word to rebuke every one as it trys to trick me into worry and doubt.  Amen.

Watch...Pray...Be Ready For God To Use You

Judges 4:1-4 - Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, now that Ehud was dead.  So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim. Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.  Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time.

The Israelite had fallen once again to the evils around them...despite the woman God had called as the judge during that time. Even though the many warnings and commands she might have shared were ignored…they still looked to her for leadership. God heard their repentant cry and even gave Barak…the one he called to lead the army at that time…a humble spirit so he would take Deborah with him to battle.

This chapter…one of the many times God led them out of bondage… also included the record of another brave and courageous woman named Jael and her quick actions.  She alone drove a tent peg into the temple of the King that had fled the battle… bringing closure to the whole matter.

I am strengthened this morning by these two women…one dubbed a leader and the other a simple housewife…and their faith. It is a reminder to me that no matter what gender we are given at birth…no matter what station in life we end up in life….God can use us to bring him great honor and glory. It also reminds me that we need to be constantly listening and ready to do his will.

Despite the frustration that Deborah must have felt as leader during one of Israel’s rebellious times….and the daily grind Jael must have felt as a simple housewife… the fact that they were ready and listening when God spoke such great purpose into their lives helped to bring glory to God in their obedience to his direction in their lives.

Perhaps they were at least two of the people God laid on Luke’s heart when he penned Luke 21:36…. “But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”  These two women modeled this before these words were ever recorded.

Father…thank you for the reminder to always be ready to hear your still …quiet voice tell us your perfect will.  Forgive me for the times that allow the world to interfere with my hearing what you have put me here on this earth to do. Help me to use more of my time to stop and pray…and watch for the many opportunities you place before me to show your love every day.  Amen.

Cry Out To God To Remove The Sin In Your Life

Judges 3:14-15 -  The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years.  Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab. 

The Israelites had become trapped in their own choices.  They had let the people around them dilute their faith so much that they forgot the one true God and adopted the pagan customs of all the people around them. God had sent them a deliverer….a judge once before….and now they needed one again.

God loved them so much...as soon as they realized their sin…and cried out to him…he sent them another judge…to kill the king of the people that held them captive. They would be free once again… to reestablish their relationship with the one true God.

It is a reminder to me that God is a forgiving God….showing grace as many times as he needs to sinners like me who follow the same pattern of failure as the Israelites. He only requires that we turn from our sin…and repent. I just know that if I spent a few minutes every morning asking forgiveness for the failures of the past….God would meet me there with a big smile on his face….happy to see me more attentive to what he needs form me in the future.

He knows we mean what we say because of our actions.  These Israelites cleaned house of all the pagan gods that had trapped them in bad choices.  They began to follow God’s law and commandments again. They went back to their first love…the love that did miracles for them….the love that went with them and before them.

Father…thank you for the reminder to start my day visiting with you…so you can help me to identify the sins that are holding me back from a deeper relationship with you. Forgive me for the times that I have let sin and selfish thoughts keep me from doing your will.  Help me to mean what I say this morning… so my time with you will clean out the things that keep me separated from all that you want for me. Amen.

Our Sins Have Natural Consequences

Judges 2:3-4 -  And I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; they will become traps for you, and their gods will become snaresto you.’” When the angel of the Lord had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud, and they called that place Bokim. There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.

Before Joshua died…an angel of the Lord visited the camp of the Israelites. We aren’t told how they came to be in one place...but we are told that the angel spoke so harshly to the people that they wept about their sin…..offered up sacrifices…even renamed the place where the angel had come.

The core of the angel’s message was there failure to follow through on their commitment to God to clear the land of all other people…to cleanse the land of those that worshiped other gods. Instead…they allowed many of them to stay…under the pretense at first of controlling them for servitude.  But exactly what God had warned them about came true.  The gods of these people weakened and diluted their faith in the one true God…and they became like them…many of them adopting the wicked practices of the many gods that existed in Canaan before they came to claim it.

The tears did not change the natural consequences of their sin…God allowing the sins they chose to participate in…over worship to him…to be the natural consequences of their behavior. These people became their enemies…and God did not fight for them anymore.  He allowed them to be overtaken and live in the sin they had created around them for some time.

What a great reminder that many of our actions reap natural consequences.  God allows them to play out in our lives till our tears of repentance cause a total change in our hearts. Sometimes God allows the consequences to continue even after we have repented and ask him to cleanse of what we had fallen into. They become tools of learning...just how important it is to make holy choices…to follow his will instead of our own.

Father…thank you for the reminder that my sins can sometimes create pockets of consequences in my life that you allow to play out until they teach me the important lessons about faith in you that are vital to my growing in understanding of being more holy. Forgive me for the choices I made that put me in those compromised positions of faith. Give me the strength…wisdom…and courage to see these situations through to the end…so you can use them to glorify your kingdom when I have come through the other side with a deeper faith in you.   Amen.

See Your Battles Completely Through

Judges 1:27-28 - Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land.  When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely.

Joshua was gone…and Israel needed the confidence of another battle leader…so they asked God for one.  He appointed Judah…and God was with him in all the battles he fought. Town…village…mountain terrain…he began to fight for what God had promised his people.

But somewhere along the way…and this chapter was filled with battle after battle and town name after town name that was difficult to pronounce…. The orders to completely destroy the people of that land got blurred.  Instead of destroying and completely wiping out all that God laid out before them…they stopped short and left many towns intact.

I am thankful that we are not called to engage in a physical battle anymore.  Jesus fulfilled the old testament law and gave us the holy spirit to guide and fight for us…but the battle is still there.  It is now a spiritual battle….fought against the principalities of darkness. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 puts it this way… “  For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”

It is a reminder to me that I should always see all the battles God allows in my life completely through. Matthew Henry’s commentary tells us one of the dangers if we don’t.   Our….”distrust of the power and promise of God deprived them of advantages.” We might just miss a greater blessing if we stop short of total obedience to what he wants us to do.

Father…thank you for the reminder that you will fight for us…no matter what we are faced with.  Forgive me for the times that I have let go of your hand and walked in the light of the world…cause I could see where I was going.  Help me to hold your hand…even in the darkness….so I can claim the greater promise of your word.  Amen.