Wake Up Call-The Conclusion

February 28th, 2010

Sunday

My Daily Scripture Readings: Judges 6; Luke 22:54-23:12;
Psalms 78:1-31; Proverbs 12:19-20

SCRIPTURE: Judges 6:13-16

"'But sir,' Gideon replied, 'if the Lord is with us, why has all of 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.'"(Judges 6:13)

"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?'"(Judges 6:14)

"'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...'"(Judges 6:15-16)

OBSERVATION: Yesterday, I read about David's struggle to find a reason why God had abandoned him, and wondered how long it would be before God would hear him and answer him. By the end of David's struggle, he reflected on God's amazing miracles of deliverance in the past focusing on the parting of the Red Sea. Ultimately, David found himself in awe of God's majesty and realized that God is always with him even if His footprints are not easily visible.

Today, I read the story about Gideon and heard much of the same despair and anguish in his own words. He too questioned God's presence. He too believed god had abandoned him and his people. Yet, the Angel of the Lord told him to go, as he was-in the strength he had at THAT MOMENT-and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Even after Gideon mentions that he is the least of the least, the Angel of the Lord merely responds with, "I will be with you..."

APPLICATION: Yesterday, I stopped short in my explanation of how I felt I related to several verses in Psalms 77 from my own walk with God. Since December 7th of '09 until now, I often experienced moments when "my soul refused to be comforted(Psalms 77:2b)." I found myself in a rut Spiritually, in a bind at work, and frustrated with people around me. From past experiences, I knew that if I placed my cares at His feet, I would be comforted and find peace. Yet "my soul refused to be comforted."

There were many times since December 7th that "I remembered You, O God, and I groaned (Psalms 77:3)." Whenever my wife asked me to pray at the end of a day, I did so with a twisted gut. Whenever I said a prayer for my daughter as I tucked her in, I did so regretfully. I groaned because all thoughts of God reminded me of how far away I had strayed. I felt like a hypocrite whenever I took time to pray because my own life was not a strong reflection of my words that I was praying.

Even though my time away was only a little less than 3 months long, it felt like a lifetime. My wife saw changes in me that were not desirable and I felt myself becoming easily angered and very loose with my tongue. We both "...thought about the former days, the years of long ago(Psalms 77:5)." I desired to return back to the time when my mornings were consistently spent at His feet.

In the end, David reflected on the awesome miracles of the past where God delivered His people. He focused on the parting of the Red Sea, which I found interesting for three reasons. First, that miracle focuses on God's power over Nature itself. God controlled and bent the will of the Seas and the Sky to His own. If He has power to control the forces of Nature, surely He has the power to deliver me from any problem I currently find myself in.

Secondly, David focused on the "Greatest Miracle of Deliverance of HIS time, which was the parting of the Red Sea. I am at an advantage in this because I can reflect on an even greater miracle of deliverance-the deliverance of sin by His death on a cross AND resurrection from the dead. He conquered death itself, and that story alone should be enough to remind me that God is bigger than all my problems.

Thirdly, David mentions that "Your paths led through the seas, Your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen(Psalms 77:19)." That verse is similar to the one about only being able to see one set of footprints in the sand during times of trouble. After the man questions Jesus about where He was when the man was going through troubled times, Jesus responded by saying that those footprints were His, as He was carrying the man through the trouble. Ultimately, it told me that even though I have felt myself to be so distant from God since December, God had never left my side and remained with me in spite of myself.

That was Yesterday's message and today just goes further to estabish this idea. Gideon, as well, felt abandoned by His God, but when the Angel of the Lord tells him that he will deliver his people from Midian, he immediately responds with, "How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family(Judges 6:15)." As of late, I, too, have felt weak and powerless to change many things, to overcome my own struggles and problems, and have felt as if it was pointless to continue to try and wake up every morning to journal. After all, what difference does it make? I also fell into the mindset that I need to first be committed to change and become a more devout Christian BEFORE deciding to return back to spending my mornings reading the Bible on a regular basis. Until I made this commitment, my problems were my own and my struggles were my own. I had made my own bed, as it were, and now I needed to sleep in it until I cleaned up the mess I had made. Once I had cleaned up my mess, then, and ONLY then could I return to such actions in the morning that brought me closer to His feet.

As I read the response the Angel of the Lord gave to Gideon, I felt his response was for me as well. He replied, "Go in the strength you have...Am I not sending you(Judges 6:14)?" On top of that, his response to Gideon's statement that he was the least of the least, he simply said, "I will be with you(v.16)." The message I take from that is this: "Come as you are AT THAT MOMENT regardless of any past deed or thought. And, in response to not feeling strong enough or important enough to matter, to simply focus on the FACT that God will be with me. That's it-there is nothing more to discuss.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for seeting me back on my journey with You. There are definitely issues that remain in my life that I need to give up to You. However, today is just one step on my journey back to Your heart. I know You are by my side all the time even when I feel estranged from You. I thank You for that assurance this morning. I ask that You continue to mold me and bend me to Your Will for it is only when I am conformed to Your Will that I truly find peace. I love You, and am enjoying every moment of The Journey!