Are you just going through the motions? Are you caught up in your feelings—unsure of where you stand with God, or even questioning whether He truly loves you, sees you, or cares for you? This post may help answer those pressing questions tugging at your heart. My hope is that you will find clarity as I share the story of Jerubbaal, more commonly known as Gideon, with you today.
The book of Judges, chapter 6, shares with us the ordeal and oppression of God’s children yet again orchestrated by their own hands. The chapter tells us the reasons God allowed them to go through that season of their lives. Sadly, there was an innocent man among them who was somewhat distinct —the man whom God was going to use for the deliverance of His children. God always partners with a man or woman whenever He wants to enforce His agenda on earth. I hope that you and I make ourselves available when and as He calls on us. So yeah, back to Gideon’s story – of course, he was caught up in the midst of the suffering and anguish faced by God’s children. In the midst of it all, I assume that he must have posed so many questions to our father in heaven until this fateful day when the angel of the Lord graced him with his presence. On that day, the angel of the Lord said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor” – Judges 6:12. Gideon’s response to the angel says a lot about the state of his heart, perhaps the same state that you are in right now – looking for answers. Gideon responded to the angel, “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian“.
Two things I see evident from Gideon’s response are: First, He sure has, or rather had the heart to serve, because the angel said that the Lord was with him, but his response was pluralized. He was like Don’t forget the rest of the people, this isn’t just about me. If I get out, I want God’s people rescued, too. He sure had the servant heart. I am not surprised by God’s reasons for choosing him amongst the multitude. Secondly, and my main emphasis for this blog post, he surely doubted that God was with him. I wonder how long God had been with him; however, how long God’s presence was with him – he didn’t feel like it, it didn’t look like God was with him. However strong his doubt was, I love what he did – he asked the Lord for a sign. And as always, God was faithful, still is faithful will forever be faithful to honor our requests that align with His divine purposes for our lives. To reveal Himself to us? Sure! Why not! The Lord sure gave Gideon what he requested as evidence of His presence.
One of the salient points I would like emphsize on this post is that we cannot continue to ride on the motions of feelings, emotions because they are so fleeting and fickle, the bible tells us that the heart which is the seat of our emotions is highly deceitful –Jeremiah 17:9. As children of God, we ride and thrive on the wings of the revealed knowledge of God to us. From Gideon’s experience, we see how the revelation to him powered him, encouraged him, and helped him to do all that God had created him to do. God’s word in Daniel 11:32 corroborates this – they that know their God, shall be strong and do exploits. Our strength lies in the revealed knowledge of God to us. Many of us may be favored or blessed to have encounters like Gideon, while some of us may not have that privilege of encounters with angels – we sure have the privilege of encountering God through His word by the power of the Holy Spirit. But how can we encounter His word if we do not even open up His word to search for His truths concerning our lives, circumstances, and all that pertains to our lives? How can we encounter Him if we haven’t locked in to the ministry of the Holy Spirit?
At this point, I hope you are able to see that you cannot let your emotions determine the trajectory of your life – the bible says, when you are weak, you declare strength, when you feel or look poor, you declare riches- Joel 3:10, II Corinthians 12:9-11. This world and everything in it are fleeting, but God’s word stands sure; it stands the test of time and will remain even after the world ends. Therefore, to thrive and blossom by the power of God’s revelation and His word to you:
- I highly recommend that you come to Jesus if you haven’t. He is the way, truth, and life -John 14:6; these are three keys and pathways I believe are salient for every living soul. At certain points in our lives, we come to crossroads, in search of the way out – Jesus is the way, He is always the way, and will remain the way to the answers we seek. In this world filled with so many forms of information flying around – lies, facts, some truths, and so on – Jesus Christ is the solid truth. Turn to Him, He has and knows the truth about you, ’cause HE was there at the laying of the foundation of the earth, by Him you were created. Everything that pertains to life and living it abundantly? Trust me, only Jesus Christ has it all figured out, only He can help you and me; therefore, start asking Him questions, surrender your all to Him.
- Secondly, I highly recommend the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. I have written so many blog posts about Him on here, you could check out or even better find out about Him from scriptures – I recommend reading the books of John and Acts of the Apostles to learn about Him.
- Finally, commit to growing in the knowledge and revelation of God and His word by engaging the Holy bible and the Holy Spirit. Create a schedule or routine where and when you devote to the word study, pen things down, and ask the Holy Spirit questions, keep at it, and I promise you encounters with the Lord through His word.