The Nagging Question
Judging by how long I slept in this morning, I must have worked harder yesterday than I realized. We had another hot day and I could really tell it when I was outside trying to do some yard work. I was sympathetic when a crew showed up to trim some shrubs and removed some dead and diseased trees.
While the heat tends to sap my energy, I was able to get down to the pool later in the afternoon for a good swim. Debbie and I attended the Saturday evening service and then enjoyed a meal on the patio at Old Chicago’s.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!” Then Gideon said, “Sir, if the Lord is with us, why are we having so much trouble?” Judges 6:12,13 NCV
Each time I read the account of the call of Gideon, I can’t help but chuckle. His blunt and rational reply seems an obvious response to the message of the “angel of the Lord.” God’s people were being oppressed. It was difficult for them to even raise their own food, the were living in terror of the Midianites. So when a man in hiding in fear is told he is a “mighty warrior” and that the “Lord is with you” It is easy to see an almost, “yea, right!” response.
We see this type of perspective reflected in many places in scripture. We see it in the lives of the Children of Israel, who even though each day they had the presence of the cloud and the manna, still had a difficult time believing the Lord was with them, when challenges came their way.
Psalm 94:4-7 speaks of the wicked and says, “They are full of proud words; those who do evil brag about what they have done. Lord, they crush your people and make your children suffer…. They say, “The Lord doesn’t see; the God of Jacob doesn’t notice.”
We read David’s lament in Psalm 10:1 “Why, LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?“ The psalmist observed, “These people are wicked, always at ease, and getting richer.” (Psa. 73:12) David recognized, “O Lord, I have so many enemies; so many are against me. So many are saying, “God will never rescue him!” (Psa. 3:1,2)
It is easy in times of trouble and difficulty to wonder, “where is God” and we must admit that at times, we may say the same thing about ourselves, “God will not rescue me.” So I guess that we can say that there is a little of Gideon in us all.
However, we see that the Lord is aware and present, even when we are not aware of it or don’t believe He is. And we usually believe that if He is aware, if He is present with us, bad things won’t happen. But Gideon was living in a land of God’s people who were not following the Lord, yet the Lord had not abandoned them. The Lord was looking for an opportunity to use a reluctant and unlikely “hero” to demonstrate His power and presence.
Gideon like many throughout time, have felt “God forsaken” but found out that he and God’s people were not. Also we read in the Psalms that though the “wicked” may prosper and mock God, their day of reckoning is coming. This is a challenge for us to keep our eyes on the Lord and follow Him regardless of what the environment we live in looks like.
When we look at our culture it is easy to question, “where the Lord is in all of this?” We need to remember that He is aware and that He is looking for “modern day Gideons” who will allow the Lord to us them to show His power and to stand for Him and to call people to Himself.
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