03.07
“But Why???” I constantly asked that question growing up. I wanted to understand every request from my parents, and if their answer didn’t make sense to me, I kept asking them “Why?” until I understood their request… or they gave up.
Now, fast forward to when I’m 15 years old and learning to drive. One afternoon, I started to pull out into traffic and my mother told me, “Stop, Ken. Don’t go!” But instead of listening, I asked “Why?” and lunged the car forward. Needless to say, my mother was right. We were almost blindsided by a truck. Of course, when we made it through the intersection, I told my mother, “Chill out, mom! Anyway, it’s that guy’s fault, not mine. He was driving too fast.” That’s when my mother told me – using very animated expressions – that I’d better start listening to her and stop blaming others for my mistakes. Truth is… my arrogance almost got us killed.
In Judges 6, there’s two times that people ask God “Why?” In verse 7, the Israelites ask “Why the hardship?” God answers them, “You’re not worshiping Me. You’re worshiping the gods of the Amorites.” And even though the Israelites ask the question, evidently they didn’t like God’s answer because they didn’t change anything. They just lunge into traffic and say, “Chill out, God! There’s nothing I need to change. It must be someone else’s fault.”
We also see another “Why?” in verse 13. Facing the same circumstances, Gideon asks, “If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?” Evidently, Gideon is following close to God and he’s frustrated that he has to endure the same tough times as those rebelling against God. But do you notice God’s answer to Gideon? He says, “Gideon, you are the answer to this problem. I’m sending you to make this world a better place.” (vs. 15, my paraphrase). Interesting… Same problems. Same questions. Different answers.
Right now, our world is experiencing tough consequences from our rebellion against God. And many of us are asking, “Why???” Well, here’s God’s answer: For those of us who are running from God, He says, “I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of (this world).” But to those of us who are following God, He answers, “Go. I am sending you to change this place.”
Same problems. Same questions. Different answers. Which answer is for you?
btw…God’s answers aren’t as animated as my mom’s, but they’re every bit as right.
What jumped out to me was “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior”. Before Gideon ever did a thing to deserve the title, mighty warrior, he was already a warrior in God’s eyes. I think if we could see with God’s eyes, our own flaws and the flaws of our brothers and sisters in the Church would not be apparent. Instead everyone would be beautiful, with wisdom resting on their brows, crowns on their heads and authority and responsibility resting on their shoulders. I don’t know how it works, but when God purposes something in his heart, it is already a reality in a way I don’t understand. One of Jesus’ names is “The Lord our Righteousness”. God looks at us and sees the righteousness of His Son not the flaws of the person we see in the mirror. To us, it appears like a kind of naive blindness, but I think to God it is a true seeing of a reality that has not yet been revealed to us. I know this sounds radical, but there is plenty of scripture that demonstrates that God sees us very differently than we see ourselves. The point is that even here on earth, seeing the very best in everyone is not blind or naive. It changes people to see the good in them that they can not see themselves. And to God, it is a truer seeing because one day we will all be conformed to the image of his Son. God has already purposed this in his heart. If we wait until in the fullness of time God reveals to us how wonderful everyone around us really is, we will have denied those same people the benefits that come from being seen for who you REALLY are. Sometimes the best love you can give is to see the beauty in someone when they are stumbling and weak and unable to see any good at all in themselves.
“The Lord is with you, mighty warrior” is one of my favorite phrases, too. Thanks for sharing, Kirk…
“The Lord is with you……..” that’s enough for me.