“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6
We live in a hard time. It appears the times are becoming like the days of Noah. Lawlessness is on the rise and right has become wrong and wrong has become right. Christians are told to remain silent and any witness for our God is labeled hate speech. Even now we can see God’s hand of judgment working against our nation as our leaders and the majority of people turn their backs o n the living and true God. Our economy is deteriorating, our enemies have become emboldened and strengthened and our borders are evaporating in front of our eyes. In many ways we are just waiting for the other shoe to drop. That is not unlike the time of Gideon in Judges.
God records stories in the Bible to strengthen our hearts and to give us direction as how to live for Him, even in perilous times. One such chapter is Judges 6. This is one of the darkest times in Israel’s history. When God withdraws from an individual or nation He takes away some of the blessings He normally provides. For example in this situation Israel lost the rest and peace that comes when God was their protector. Their food, that God blessed them with, was being stolen by the Midianites and Amalekites. When Israel depended on
themselves for their own safety and protection there was great fear in people’s hearts. There is an important lesson here. Living in sin separates us from the blessings of God. This is what hell is – a total separation of the unbeliever from the goodness and blessings that only come from God. Separation from God for any length of time is horrible. Israel’s enslavement to the Midianites was only seven years but it was intense, harsh and fearful. There were some true believers in Israel at the this time even as it appeared the entire nation was turning against God. (Remember God told Elijah there were 7,000 true believers in Israel when the worst king Israel had ever had reigned.) Those believers would live through the same consequences the nation was experiencing. Only faith in the character and promises of God would keep them from looking at the circumstances and despairing that God had forsaken His people.
The truth was God was working in Israel. Those who loved Him could see His hand as He disciplined His rebellious people for their sin. True
believers would remember the words of God. He told them this is what would happen if they turned their back on Him and followed foreign Gods. They would remember the Lord’s words to them before Joshua died. “Then the Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: “I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this? Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and their gods shall be a snare to you.’ ” The believers in Gideon’s time would take comfort in God’s word. He told them what would happen if the nation turned away to other god’s and true believers saw it happen. This would bring praise that God was there; that God kept His word and that God would also keep His word to
restore them to Him if they would humble themselves and pray and seek His face. God deserves praise, even in hard times!
What can we learn? Why is this important to us? No matter how dark the times, and even when we do not see the Lord’s presence or how He is working, we have the same two assurances the believers in Gideon’s time had. First, God’s word tells us what the end times will be like. God describes the evil of the times just as they existed in Noah’s day, in Gideon’s day and in Daniel’s day. His word also lists His
promises that He has made to us and which He keeps. Second, we know the character of God. We know His love, His mercy and His willingness to forgive. If we had nothing more than our knowledge of God’s character it would be enough to assure us during hard times. Finally, we know God is in control and nothing can touch our lives or be more than what God approves. Because He is in control we look with hope to each day knowing He will give us the strength to go through it and bring Him glory – no matter how hard that day is.