““Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this
happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about?
Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has
abandoned us and handed us over…” Judges 6:13
Last week we began talking about expectations in regards to hope, and
it’s a helpful discussion for us to have.
One aspect I wasn’t able to bring out in this story has to do with what
Gideon believed he knew about God and His people. Gideon was convinced that God had abandoned
them, but this was not true. God had
always been with them. The truth was
that God had given the Israelites over to their rebellion. They rejected God; He did not reject them.
This is an important key to this story.
Gideon is blaming God for his circumstances while the whole while Gideon
is engaged in sin himself. He points
fingers at God when he should be pointing them at his own heart. The crazy thing is that the real story was
always available to Gideon if he had done a little research. He could have consulted priests, prophets and
the scrolls for clarification, but he didn’t and it cost him his faith. Fortunately for Gideon, God had not abandoned
him…He sought Gideon out to restore his faith.
The study of God’s Word is so critical to our daily walk with God, and
truthfully, many of us are not as faithful to it as we could be. It actually made me pause and ask the
question of myself, “What part of the story do I think I know but actually have
wrong?” Study of the Bible is the only
way to get the story right. Let us not
neglect our source! If you need help in
your study then seek it out…ask people for help, join a study, or get a version
of the Bible you can read easily. I am
often asked what version I use, and I prefer the New Living Translation.
This week we are continuing our series “Unleashing Hope,” while
wrapping up Gideon's story. Take another
look at Judges 6, 7 and 8 ahead of time.
We so look forward to seeing you this coming weekend as we celebrate
God, catch up with friends and challenge ourselves with God’s Word. We love you!
Pastor Craig, Becky, Seth, Hannah and Riley the dog
PS: Thanks to the team who designed and constructed our new stage
design, and “yes” the pallets are fastened together securely.
