Time and again, the enemy forces from Midian had attacked the children of Israel, forcing them to hide in caves and dens in the mountains. Whatever the Israelites sowed in their fields, the Midianites and other marauding tribes came and destroyed or carried away, leaving an impoverished people.
Gideon, an Israelite, was threshing a little bit of wheat one day, hidden in the winepress because who would think to look there? The Angel of the Lord appeared to him, saying "“Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!” Gideon must have been quite surprised—first of all, by seeing an angel, and secondly, by being addressed as a hero, and a mighty one at that.
“Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.” (Judges 6:13)
Gideon is not the only one to have wondered about God's readiness to stick with us: the Israelites in the wilderness, Job's wife, the psalmist David. Even Jesus' agonized cry from the Cross was, "God, where are You?" And it is easy for us too to look at what is around us—the difficulty we are encountering or the loss we've suffered—and question, "If the Lord is with me, why has all this happened?" We can even recount what He has done for us in the past and still conclude, "I guess He has abandoned me." It just isn't true!
God did deliver the people from oppression, using Gideon—to his own surprise—as a strategic warrior and a true hero. God did lead the people from the wilderness into the Promised Land. He did heal Job from terrible disease and free Job's wife from her inner turmoil. God did make David a king and a man after His own heart. And He did raise Jesus to sit with Him in heavenly places.
God has not changed. He is with us too, "For God has said, 'I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.' ” (Hebrews 13:5) Some lines from a very old hymn remind us:
I’ve seen the lightning flashing, I’ve heard the thunder roll.
I’ve felt sin’s breakers dashing, which almost conquered my soul.
I’ve heard the voice of my Savior, bidding me still to fight on.
He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone!
The world’s fierce winds are blowing temptation sharp and keen.
I have a peace in knowing my Savior stands between.
He stands to shield me from danger when all my friends are gone.
He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone!
When in affliction’s valley I tread the road of care,
My Savior helps me carry the cross so heavy to bear;
Though all around me is darkness, earthly joys all flown;
My Savior whispers His promise, never to leave me alone!
Refrain
No, never alone, no never alone,
He promised never to leave me,
He’ll claim me for His own;
No, never alone, no never alone.
He promised never to leave me,
Never to leave me alone.
-- Ludie D. Pickett (1897)
MaryMartha
You may also like:
The Lord Is My Shepherd (here)
Has God Forgotten? (here)
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Hymn lyrics from http://my.homewithgod.com/heavenlymidis2/alone.html
Art from http://www.sxc.hu/
I have come to suspect that some of the people around me would like for me to be afraid—if not very afraid! Do they think that if others join them in considering what terrible things may happen before we get out of this world, that gives some credibility to their own fears? Or if enough people worry long and loudly about perceived calamity that will somehow ward it off? All the fuss will neither cause nor prevent the adverse circumstances which they fear.
Unless I am missing something, Jesus told His followers only once to be afraid. Recorded in Matthew and in Luke, He said, “Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear." (Luke 12:4, 5 NLT) The rest of the time, over and over and over again, He told them, "Don't be afraid" or "Fear not." His last discourse with the disciples included the words, "I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid." (John 14:27 NLT) The message could not be clearer.
Yes, there things in our world that can very well cause fear. But the Psalmist was firm in his choice of trust rather than fear. "Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You." Then he was able to declare, "In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me? . . . In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Psalm 56: 3, 4, 11 NKJV) One might suppose that this song was composed on a peaceful hillside as David watched his sheep. No, he has taken refuge from King Saul who is after him. He is in the enemy camp of the Philistines, and they have discovered who he is! Shouldn't you be afraid, David? "No, I will not be afraid."
First we decide, "When I am afraid, I will trust God." Then we work that out, day by day. We hear a scrap of news that strikes fear to the heart. We get an e-mail that warns of some dire "probability." The conversation we hear is negative and full of fear. Rather than going into an immediate defense mode, I suggest we stop and calmly repeat to ourselves, "In God I have put my trust. I will not be afraid." (And it wouldn't hurt to say it out loud too!) If media reports scare you, don't watch/listen. If forwarded e-mails are frightening, don't open them. If your acquaintances speak of fearful things, move on. Better to be a bit uninformed than fearful and angry. Guard your heart.
MaryMartha
Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved. Scripture marked NKJV is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Many children go through a stage of being afraid of the dark. Before about two years of age, their imagination is not developed enough to envision what scary things might be waiting for them. But two- to four-year-olds are able to recreate in their minds the things they have been exposed to in real life. Even if these things were only imaginary, such as those created in storybooks or TV or older children's tales, small children do not always know the difference between pretend and real. The imagined dangers grow even scarier in the dark. Without the ability to understand their alarm and reason it away, little people sometimes have very big fears.
Usually, by the time we are adults, we have been able to put aside imagined perils in the dark and have learned only the prudent cautions that wisdom dictates. But there is one area of life that we may continue to be overwhelmed by the darkness: when we cannot see our way spiritually. There are some famous examples:
* Job in the Bible, suffering intensely both physically and emotionally, desperately pleaded with God for deliverance. His misery was intensified by what seemed to be God's disregard for his plight.
* Saint John of the Cross, a Carmelite priest in the 16th century, was imprisoned by the brothers of his Order who opposed his reforms. He wrote extensively about "the dark night of the soul."
* Mother Teresa experienced an extended period of spiritual night from 1948 until shortly before her death in 1997, but never wavered in her determination to save the thrown-away children of Calcutta even when she experienced no rapturous spiritual rewards.
* Many Christians, even those who are strongly devoted to God and have a consistent prayer life, go through periods of "dryness" and difficulty for a time. They may feel their faith has collapsed or even that God has abandoned them.
If you experience a spiritual night, remember that, like the fearful child, what you imagine is scarier than the reality. God has not forsaken you! Yes, it is dark, but that simply means He is very near. "How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings." "He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection." (Psalm 36:7; 91:4)
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. (Matthew 23:37)
"Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy! I look to you for protection. I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings until the danger passes by." (Psalm 57:1)
Francis Thompson, English poet who wrote "Hound of Heaven," asks, "Is my gloom, after all, shade of His hand, outstretched caressingly?" Is this darkness, after all, the covering of His wings, holding me with unfailing love?
We cannot expect to see much when we're under His wings! It is dark under there. And completely safe.
MaryMartha
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Early this month, I read several accounts about the new observation balconies opening on the 103rd floor of Chicago's Sears (Willis) Tower. It was almost heart-stopping just to think about walking out over nothingness, 1353 feet above Wacker Drive and the Chicago River. Several summers ago, before construction of "The Ledge" began, I ventured close enough to the Skydeck's windows to take some pictures, but mostly I stayed back a few feet to avoid the queasiness of looking down so far. Visitors who got sneak previews from the glass-enclosed boxes included several young children who lay flat on the floor to look straight down or jumped up and down to see if there was any shaking. (There wasn't, of course. Each box has walls, ceiling, and floor made of three half-inch layers of super-clear glass with plastic layers sandwiched between. They are suspended from inside the building by a steel framework and each is capable of supporting five tons—about three mid-sized cars or an elephant. Cars and elephants are not allowed into the building, so I think we're okay here.)
What was amazing to me, other than the sheer boldness of the whole project, was the fearlessness of these children. Adults confessed their trepidation, but not the kids. They thought it was really cool! They had not yet acquired the caution of their elders. They had not learned this particular fear.
Most of us have some fears—heights, perhaps, or big dogs or doctors' needles or storms. These may be quite understandable. Some experience in our lifetime, even long ago in childhood, taught us to be wary, or we may have "caught" the fear from those around us who were afraid. We continue to carry that sense with us, and unless blown out of proportion—becoming an irrational phobia—it is of relatively small consequence that we do so. It did not matter to anyone, not even to me, that I did not want to stand too near the windows of the Skydeck in Chicago.
There are other fears too that we may have been taught or we "caught": fear of failure or rejection, of change, of authority, of dozens more. I am not the one to recommend how to handle these fears if they become a hindrance to happy living. I want only to remind us how easily we revert to a previously learned fear response. What may seem at first to be indignation might really be fear. What would appear to be a precaution can be fear. Even a show of humility sometimes is a cover for fear!
If it paralyzes, we may need to ask, "Is this actually fear?"
MaryMartha
