Welcome to Wednesday! It’s a blessing to be with you today in the Pastor’s Workshop.
Since this is midweek, we’re well along in our creative process towards Sunday’s message. We’ve submerged ourselves in the Scripture. We’ve looked for an underlying logic in the passage. Today we think about context and contrast. What was the world into which the Word was spoken? How is it like our world today? What situation in the human condition does the Scripture speak into? How do we see that same situation in our lives?
Our message for this week is “Ready to Reopen? Reassure Your Doubts”. It is based in the second half of Judges 6, verses 14-21, 36-40.
As we studied last week, this Scripture comes from a period of history when the Israelites were establishing themselves in Canaan. They considered it their Promised Land from God. As the Book of Joshua notes there were already people in the land. And as the Book of Judges reflects the relationship between these neighboring tribes and Israel was contentious.
Particularly in our story of Gideon, the Midianites, who were a tribe to the east and south of Israel, had risen up, “prevailed against” and oppressed the Israelites. This oppression went on for seven years, a “full season” in Biblical parlance. In this Scripture the whole notion of “Reopening” is about liberation from this foreign domination and regaining freedom.
The Israelites adapted to this subjugation by hiding in the mountains. The caves were their strongholds. Every time they tried to rise up, plant crops, and to get back to “normal”, the Midianites rose up even more, to quash any uprising.
It was in this actively oppressive situation God called Gideon to be a “mighty warrior”. He was to be God’s leader in liberating the people. Judges 6 highlights not only God’s call, but also Gideon’s response.
As we noted yesterday in the Workshop, there is an explicit interplay in this Scripture between God’s call and Gideon’s fear. Gideon “tests God” to see if it is really God talking to him, to see if God will give him a sign showing God is serious, and to see if God will be true to God’s word. With each “fleece”, each test and trial, God moves Gideon forward step by step , overcoming his fears so that in faith he can live into the commission God has given him. Gaining victory Gideon’s internal “battle” is critical to Gideon advancing into engaging in God’s commission.
Following God can hold that same dynamic for us. God’s commission can stretch us beyond our “comfort zones”. We can find we have hesitations, reservations, doubts and fears. We need to address and overcome these before we can fully embrace what God has for us. This Scripture proclaims we have a God who is with us every step of the way, as we make our “internal journey” so we can also step into fulfilling the call God has given us to share and show God’s love in Christ.
I’m grateful we have a God who reassures. In that blessing I invite us to consider our guiding question, “Are we ready to reopen?” I encourage us to be aware of our hesitations, doubts, and fears, knowing they are natural, normal and OK. And then I call us to trust these to God, just as Gideon did, in ways God can answer our prayers, encourage our hearts, enlighten our minds and inspire our spirits as we move forward wisely and well into the mission God has for us to accomplish in this season.
Trusting in that grace, I’m glad we had this time today and I look forward to being with you tomorrow in the Pastor’s Workshop.
Prayer: Gracious God, there are times in our lives as people of faith that we don’t “dive right in” as we follow You. We have reservations, doubts and fears. By Your grace You would go with us through these and grow us through these. Thank you for Your Reassurance that blesses us as we seek to walk in Your paths. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen