CassieBored?
Anxious?
Excited?
Scared?
Stressed?
Sad?
I want the answer always to be to Jesus, that I turn to Jesus.
Yesterday, I had the honour of leading a Bible study and coffee tasting as part of a girls’ group through Creekside, the church I’m interning at. In the study, we looked a sermon by Pastor Eric Ludy called “The Most Unlikely Heroes.”
The sermon talked about the downfalls and sin of generations before our own, and then the spiritual lethargy of our own. We have, as a generation, more knowledge deficits than ever. We depend on our cell phones more throughout the day than we depend on our Creator. We are lazy in reading and in learning.
This isn’t to dumb down or insult, and it definitely is a generalization
But it is convicting to our souls in the sense that we know our purpose is not in monotonously scrolling our thumb through an Instagram feed.
The Lord said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
“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.” JUDGES 6:11-12
There is a human answer, a worldly answer, for everything. And Gideon, here in his conversation with the Lord about saving Israel from the impending Midianites, knew that he was too weak on his own, and was confused at how the Lord could possibly have chosen him. But the Lord tells Gideon that HE will be with him. God’s own strength will go before Gideon.
We can seek counsel in the weak and sinful. We can turn to YouTubers and bloggers for our wisdom. We can seek out solace in Netflix. We can run to our boyfriend/girlfriend/friend when we feel accomplished, seeking attention and adoration. We can Google all the solutions to medical problems tirelessly. We can look for peace in new clothes, or furniture, or gadgets.
Proverbs 12:15
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.
Proverbs 11:14
Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.
Proverbs 15:22
Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.
Proverbs 19:20-21
Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future. Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
Why would God choose us, sinful, mistaken, and broken, as “Heroes?” What is our calling?
Watch what I do in weakness. –God
Jesus is a God who meets us where we’re at, and transforms lives through is. All He asks of us is faith, continued faith and therefore engaged relationship with Him, trust that He will be each day exactly who He says He is. He wasn’t asking Gideon to destroy the Midianites on his own, and He will never ask you to fight your own battles. He’s just asking you to trust Him, and that can start right now.
Lord Jesus, help us to trust You and Your Word in such a way that we live in expectancy of Your voice, Your touch, and Your Spirit’s revelations. May Your words be our words, and your direction be our steps. Lord, I pray that You would nudge and guide anyone reading this who is stirred up to look to You for the first time, or again, that they would look to Your perfect face and find their Father. Lord, many we know that You are our All in All. Amen.
