Why Are You Discouraged?
Good Morning Friends,
There was a time in Israel’s history when there was no king and everyone did what was right in their own eyes. People felt forsaken because the miracles that had been part of their father’s history were not happening for the next generation. They were wondering why bad things were happening to them if God was so good. They were weak and living in caves for safety. Their crops were destroyed by the Midianites, and then an angel, that seems a lot like Jesus to me, shows up and faces Gideon directly and calls this little frightened man into action to deliver Israel. Gideon called for help and God responded with a sense of peace that was the miracle needed. Why Are You Discouraged?
Scripture: Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior.” Gideon answered him, “But sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has cast us off, and given us into the hand of Midian.” Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; I hereby commission you.” He responded, “But sir, how can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” The Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike down the Midianites, every one of them.” Then he said to him, “If now I have found favor with you, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. Do not depart from here until I come to you, and bring out my present, and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay until you return.” So Gideon went into his house and prepared a kid, and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour; the meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the oak and presented them. The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes; and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes; and the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. Then Gideon perceived that it was the angel of the Lord; and Gideon said, “Help me, Lord God! For I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” But the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you; do not fear, you shall not die.” Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it, The Lord is peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.
Judges 6:11-24a (NRSV)
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, “Then who can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” Then Peter said in reply, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.
Matthew 19:23-30 (NRSV)
Message: Maybe you have faced a time or experienced a situation that seemed impossible for you to resolve and then God somehow provided a way for you. In this topsy-turvy world of ours there are surprises. People can be empowered to change and think differently. Perhaps Jesus is calling you now to a different life. Perhaps Jesus is calling you now to not make excuses and not worry but act in a way that honors God. And perhaps once we encounter God in this way we can become qualified for a divine purpose and peace. God intends for us to live in joyful, trusting dependence. Sure, we will be discouraged and fearful and weak but God has an answer and purpose and mission for us. In the face of defeat God can bring the miracle of wholeness, security, well-being, prosperity, peace and friendship. But we must face the sin that imprisons us. Friends, God specializes in the impossible. Perhaps this morning you would like to take what is bothering you and turn it over to God. Know that the story is not over until it is over. Sure, we will have doubts but that is to be expected. If God has called us to a mission, we are to expect a miracle in our lives and the lives of others.
Pray we let God handle the tough stuff. Pray we allow Jesus to speak into our specific challenges. Pray we delight in the infinite possibilities of God. Pray we realize that those things that seem impossible are only opportunities for God to display the vivid glory of the divine potential. Pray we turn to God with a hopeful heart. Pray we realize that God intends for us to live in joyful, trusting dependence on Jesus and not on our own understanding. Pray we share what we learn from our encounters with God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 