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Grow Up

“And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.” (Judges 6:12)


I love the story of Gideon for it is the story of most men. I can’t speak for the ladies, but I know I speak for a large contingency of my brothers out there. Some of you won’t relate to what I am about to say. To you I say congratulations and thank you. Congratulations for having the upbringing you surely had that I missed and thank you for standing in the gap until the rest of us caught up with you. Gideon speaks on behalf of a great crowd of us – I would venture to say the majority of us.

Israel has, all its life as a nation, been harassed by its neighbors. It seems they are picked on either for their size, for their very apparent blessing, or just out of jealousy. From it’s very inception Israel has riled the rancour of others around them. From the covenant sealed between Abraham and God forward, Israel has lived under the blessing of heaven. All throughout scripture when Israel lived in accordance with God’s commands they were invincible in battle, protected from plagues and other natural disasters, and found every need provided for them. This, in itself, was enough to stir anger in their enemies. It was only during times of rebellion and disobedience that this umbrella of God’s protection was lifted off them. This, in turn, allowed their enemies access to them – but not to their blessing.

Such is the case in our scripture passage today. Israel was being constantly harassed by one of their enemy countries. Actually two or more. The Amalekites and the Midianites were enhanced by other peoples of the east during this time. They would await harvest, then attack and plunder the Israelites. They would come in, destroy what they could, then take all the harvest for their own people, leaving the Israelites destitute and afraid. The Israelites found themselves helpless against these enemies and feeling the abandonment of their God. It was during this time that God contracted Gideon to be a judge (or a leader) over the people of Israel.

I can only assume, based upon his response, that Gideon felt as I (and many others have) have felt all my life. I will confess to you, my dear friend, a secret – but it has to stay between you and me. Don’t tell anyone. Up until only a handful of years ago I have felt like a teenager in my thinking. Whether it was a carryover from my upbringing, my own stunted development mentally, or always being under the control of others and not being allowed to make my own decisions – I don’t know. From the first day of school until I retired I have always had someone over me telling me what to think, what to do, when to do it, etc. Either it was my boss, my family, my wife, my pastor, or a combination of multiples of these, I have never exercised my own judgment or (seemingly) thought an original thought of my own. When I did venture to, I was condemned, criticized, ridiculed, or shot down altogether. That caused my mind to be stuck in my teens (mentally). If I were to guess an age, I would say I felt like I was fourteen in my mind. Even though I was a supervisor, a trainer, a Non-Commissioned Officer in the Army, or whatever, I always felt my thoughts, feelings, and abilities didn’t count or had no value. Again, this is just me. But I feel there are others.

Paul wrote over in I Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” We have always thought that meant spiritually; however, I found out it really applies also to our human, mental condition. That explains why I have done some of the things I have done in the past (even as an adult)! Eureka! The light came on! This verse describes how we find Gideon in this passage. He is from the smallest nation in the world, from the smallest tribe in the nation, from the smallest family in the tribe, and he is the weakest in his family. Talk about a poor self-image! But, alas, that describes most of the Christians I meet still today. We have such a small image of ourselves, such a horrible valuation of one who has been purchased by the very blood of the Son of God and filled with the same Holy Spirit in which He walked and ministered. In reading the rest of the story, we find that Gideon quickly matured into the man of God he was destined to be. Granted, it came at a price – but what thing of value doesn’t?

In his book Why Revival Tarries, Leonard Ravenhill wrote that most Christians still have a Sunday School image of God in their minds and that is why we never experience the victories and growth God has intended for us. We attempt to face adult-sized problems with a children’s church-sized God. Oh that I didn’t believe him. Yet that is exactly what I have found in my life. So have many others. Including Gideon. He knew the stories of the God of Israel from of old, yet he had never pulled that God into his life and allowed God to grow with and in him. So have we done. Many of us still think of God in terms of a flannel-graph board (look it up if you need to), instead of an active, current, ever-relevant God in our world today.

I challenge you, therefore, my friend, to search your heart. Perhaps the challenges you face today would simply vanish under the powerful hand of an adult-sized God. We have, either by accident, neglect, or intention, stunted our God and forced Him to remain a myth in our minds and understanding. We consider Him little more than a family friend, or someone we have known since we were children. But we moved on and left Him back on the porch of our old house (so to speak). Oh, we call Him now and then just to stay in touch and out of respect and honor to our parents. We don’t want to be rude, after all. But God wants so much more than that. He doesn’t want to just be our friendly neighbor that we talk to occasionally over the fence. He wants to move in with us, to move into us, to live with us, to experience life with us, to know what goes on behind our closed doors, to have an active part in our lives. Only then will, in the words and writings of Ravehill, revival spring up in our lives, our churches, our communities, our nations, and our world. May you realize that in your heart and life today.

Be blessed.

 
 
 

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