Thursday 26 January 2017

Go in this might of yours

Judges 6:12-14, 'the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14 And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?”'

 I love reading about Gideon, each time I consider him, I am amazed at him and God. This time I have noticed the angel's response to Gideon, "Go in this might of yours".
What might?!

How has Gideon displayed might? Well, it is clear already from this snippet of conversation that Gideon knows of God. He knows the history of his country, and the works of God. Gideon establishes that he knows their is a God, and he knows that God is in control. Even if he doesn't understand why all this oppression is going on. The might that Gideon displays is a strength of faith. He also clearly has great discontent with the situation he, his family, and the nation is in right now. Gideon is frustrated with living like this, he doesn't understand why God seems to do nothing, but he still firmly believes in the God of Israel. 

 Do you have that? When you are oppressed, squashed down, have to scrimp and scrounge to feed your family. When there's no work or the place you live sucks, do you still know God is in control? Do you have that unshakeable faith that thinks, "do you know what this sucks? But God is real, he's worked in the past, I don't know what he's doing now, but it doesn't make him any less real?"
This, I believe is the might that the angel sees in Gideon.

Gideon's response is quite revealing. It displays his understanding, his discomfort and agitation with the present situation, and a disquiet in his soul that God could do something about it.
He clearly wants things to change, and the angel he meets tells Gideon to do something about it. That's a huge command.

Gideon has been hiding out, and he's called to go in the might he has. He has to step out in order for change to happen. He has to 'go'.  I'm not surprised that Gideon asked for a load of signs to make sure he was hearing God correctly. He's grown up for the past seven years hiding away from the enemy and scrimping what he can to help feed his family. Now, he's told he's strong and mighty and brave, and he needs to go and change things for his country! 

 God knows what He is doing. When he calls us out, He knows our strengths and weaknesses, he knows who we are meant to be and what we are meant to fight for. He knows our might. What is he calling you to go and do, 'in this might of yours?'

Wednesday 25 January 2017

Get out of the cave

'the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds.' Judges 6:2 The people of Israel were so terrified of the enemies that kept coming into their land, so worn down and oppressed, that they lived in caves. They were so scared of the enemies that plundered them, that stole all their possessions and food, that they made dens in the hillside. Can you imagine what that's like? I remember reading last year that Haiti had terrible hurricanes and people resorted to living in caves. Rocky, hard, dark, uncomfortable -can you imagine sleeping there, let alone living there? You have got to be pretty desperate to live in a cave. I guess that would of been the same for the Israelites.  It's not the preferred choice, but a last resort. At least it's a shelter where you can hide away from trouble. It's a place people flee to, not make their homes in. It's a place of temporary safety, not a dwelling place. So, what drove the Israelites to the caves? The people who plundered them, their enemies the Midianites, Amalekites and 'the people of the East'. The Israelites were running scared. They wanted to protect themselves and the limited possessions they had left. Ultimately the Israelites had ignored what God had told them, they'd done their own thing and it hadn't worked out very well for them. They trusted their own capabilities, not God's. So, they Israelites hid away. God hadn't told the people to go hide in caves, but he allowed them to. God allows us to make choices in our lives, and surprising lay we don't always choose the best route. So, we are allowed to see what the errors we make lead to - hiding in a cave, hiding our faults and mistakes, even losing stuff. God allows that to happen so that we can see the benefit of his love and protection. We see throughout the Bible that when people follow God they have rest and peace. When the people cry out to God, admit their wrongs, he rescues and restores them- every time. This time, in this moment of Israelite history, the Israelites would rather hide. They hide from the truth that this difficulty is pretty much self-inflicted. It's through a series of bad choices they've made, a series of good advice they have ignored. Like most people they think they can be self-sufficient, do things their own way and everything will be fine. Like us, I'm sure they tried their best to get themselves out of trouble when it comes, relying on their own capabilities, skills, experience and even possessions when tough times arrive. The Israelites are not yet ready to admit that; a) they've gone wrong and b) they need help. Instead, they are hiding. Hiding from the truth of their mistakes and from the reality that they are not in control of their lives- if they could of controlled their enemies they would of done, but sometimes circumstances are beyond our control, beyond our capabilities, but they are never beyond God! We all have areas of our lives, past or present that we are ashamed of. Bits that we'd love to hide away and bury in a cave, maybe you have done this. The Israelites carry on like this for seven years, seven long years of hiding in a cave. Seven long years of trying their best to get out of their mess, seven years of misery. Seven years of lack of food, seven years of living in fear. I can't imagine that, can you? If you can relate, then maybe it's time to step out of the cave. It is scary venture out when you've been hiding so long. It's terrifying to admit you've been covering up, you may feel ashamed and scared of the truth coming out. However, caves aren't meant to be lived in. Don't wait for years before you come into the open. Let your mistakes be seen for what they are, mistakes. We have all done things wrong, and we can all be forgiven because of Jesus. 'cry out to the Lord' as the Israelites did. When the people cried out, God responded. He will respond to you too. Stop hiding in the cave.

Tuesday 17 January 2017

Teamwork



This week I've been reading about Deborah and Barak in the book of Judges. I'm struck by how well they work as a team. They honour one another, and trust each other in their areas of expertise.

Deborah is a prophetess, she calls Barak, and commissions him according to what God has said to her.
Barak trusts her. He knows her reputation, understands what she is saying, and he does it. He invited Deborah to come with him into the battle he was called into. He knows God is with her, so If Deborah joins him in the battle, he knows God is with them. It will give the whole army confidence in the battle they are to face. They are but foot soldiers facing an enemy with 900 chariots. Not an easy task, but Barak trusts God, and Deborah.
Barak listens when Deborah tells them to go, and keeps fighting and pursuing until the not only the army leader was destroyed, but the king of the enemy was also destroyed. Once empowered to go, Barak gained momentum and persevered until the task was completed. He then continued to pursue the enemy as another army commander could rise up, but if the king of the enemy is destroyed, then the enemy is destroyed.

Both Barak and Deborah play to their strengths. Barak leads an army and destroys the enemy. Deborah speaks what she knows God is saying. They have different duties, different capabilities, but they work together for victory.
Neither tried to usurp the other's authority or try to be the ultimate leader. They worked to their own strengths. They recognised their need of each other. Deborah had a gift of hearing from God, Barak had the gift of leadership. He called 10,000 men to battle - not everyone could do that!

Barak asked Deborah to come with him to the battlefront. (What a brave woman who agreed!) When Deborah told Barak that she would go, but the glory would not belong to him, Barak doesn't seem to mind. He is a willing warrior, a commander, a gatherer of an army. He is willing and able to fight for the Israelites to be free, but he doesn't need the glory for it. It seems he is content to fulfil the purpose he is created for, he does not need public acclamation on top. He strives, not for fame and renown, but for the freedom of the people and that God's word might be fulfilled, what a quest!

Deborah, she is the judge of Israel at the time, the only woman that had that office. That shows strength in itself! She had authority and confidence to call Barak to war, and she agreed to go with him into battle. What a brave woman, confident in the word of God.

I love this story because here are two incredibly strong people, in different ways, but they work together to defeat the enemy. When people work together, no matter how different they are, what victory there is!
Truly working together is not about being the head of a team, or working the most or best, this about fulfilling the role only you can bring. Deborah and Barak are a great example of that. They listen to one another and work together. They even write a song of victory together.

Whatever you do in life, you will have to work as part of a team. Assess your attitude - what are you working for? Renown? Promotion? Recognition? Achievement? Success? None of these things are wrong, but what is your ultimate goal and how does it affect your effectiveness?

Who do you need to be working with this year? What challenges are you facing where you need someone with you, someone with different skills and abilities?

Are you facing a battle? Then make sure you have the word of God with you, and people with the ability to fight.

Tuesday 10 January 2017

What are you fighting for?

Judges 3:31
'After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel.'

I don't know about you, but I've not heard of this guy, Shamgar before. This is the only reference. However, what a lot it tells us!
If only one sentence were to sum up your life, this would be a pretty cool sentence! Shamgar killed 600 Philistines, not for fun, but to fight for Israel.
How did he do it? With an oxgoad - a farming implement used to guide cattle (like a cattle prod). It has a pointy end, but not the most effective weapon for fighting with. Surely, God must of helped this Shamgar with that victory, a wooden stick with a pointy end is not what most soldiers would choose as a weapon. Especially considering that Shamgar was fighting the Philistines - known warriors who were oppressing the Israelites.

Little else is known of Shamgar, he is mentioned in Judges chapter 5, 'In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned, and travellers kept to the byways.' So, it was a dangerous time in Israel, they had to sneak around to get from place to place. There must of been significant risk of harm - they couldn't travel along the well-known paths but had to go the long way round.

Shamgar lived in dangerous days.
What did he do about it?
He went out and fought.
He didn't hide away trembling with fear, he took what he had and fought for what was right. He had the most unlikely of weapons, but he could see that the oppression was wrong, so he stood up for what he believed in.
He fought, he led, he conquered. The result? 'he also saved israel'! What an amazing summing up of someone's life!

What amazing victories could you achieve if you stand up and fight?

You may feel like an unknown in the history of the world. To be honest, this guy Shamgar is pretty unknown - there's only a couple of sentences that give any information about him and there's not a lot else that is known, but what is known is the fact that Shamgar stood and fought for what he knew was right. Then look at the victory God led him into! 600 defeated and a whole nation saved! Wow!

Shamgar lived in dangerous times, but he didn't hide away, he stood up and fought.
This world can be a scary, lonely, dangerous place. With God on your side, and with the willingness to stand and fight who knows what victories you can win!
What sentence do you want to sum up your life? I doubt it will be the same, but you can also have impact. What are you going to stand up and fight for?

Tuesday 3 January 2017

God's Grace

Reading through Judges, I am realising afresh that God is so gracious.

To begin with, the Israelites call on God, ask him for direction and obey him - happy days! They see victory and claim their land. Then, it seems small seeds of doubt are planted as they realise that they can't overcome certain places (because of the chariots) it looks like they forget how big God really is and get a bit scared.
They also seem to get a bit comfortable as they settle in their new home, they let the previous inhabitants hang about instead of getting rid of them as God told them to. They choose to live amongst their enemies - why? Maybe they got a bit lazy, otherwise why would you want to hang around people that would do you no good? God had clearly warned Israel that if they let the other people hang around, it would be to their detriment. He told them it would cause them to lose focus and go after other things, and if they did that he wouldn't fight with them at more.
God made his expectations very clear.

You know how it is though, you may be told to do or not do something by a parent, boss or authority figure. Then, when they're not looking over your shoulder, you maybe slip up a little bit, get a bit lazy, not try so hard, maybe skip a job or two, let your language slip, maybe even hangs out with people that you' shouldn't. This is what Israel did, they didn't follow God's instructions, they carried on their own business, got a bit lazy. They didn't kick out the people they should, instead they let them stay and probably made friends with some of them. Then they began to try out what these people are up to, just like we would. We are all influenced by our surroundings and those who surround us.
It's up to us where we place the value of importance. God makes his expectations clear and he lets us know the consequences of not following them, just like he did for Israel.

So, Israel hang out with the people they should of kicked out and destroyed, and get to know what they do, start taking up their practices until there's no thought of God in their minds. He stops helping them win battles hoping they'd notice, he let people plunder them - take their stuff. He removed their protection and strength, but they carried on going in what they were getting sucked into.
The text says Israel were then, 'In terrible distress'. It doesn't say they looked to God to help, or cried out for help, but God intervened anyway by his amazing grace, by giving them judges to help govern the nation. The judges, with God's help, rescued the nation from the plunderers - but the nation still did not recognise God in it all. They carried on getting themselves into more and more trouble, sinking into depravity.

This shows me the greatness of God's grace.

He never totally gives up on his people, he gives them chance after chance after chance. He demonstrates his presence but because Israel aren't looking for it they don't see it (are you like that?). They choose to believe the stuff that surrounds them. Maybe they believe in chance, fake gods, or superstitions instead. They stubbornly believe that they are in control of their destiny, and have no regard for God, maybe no belief in him even. That hasn't stopped God giving them opportunities to see him at work though. God is not limited by our belief or unbelief. He does and will work in your lives he's full of grace. He's waiting for the moment when you discover how involved he's been.

He was clearly with Israel, even when they weren't looking for him or aware of it, God fought for them, saved them, interacted with them, sent angels to them, then eventually he left them. Not permanently, but he had to give the Israelites a chance to experience a godless life so they could see the benefit of one with God in it. When they did cry out to Him, he answered. He came, he rescued them yet again.
Don't make the mistakes Israel did. Look for the ways God is demonstrating his presence and grace in your life.