Judges 6:11-35

This week’s Let’s Go! passage finds us in the Book of Judges.  That is not generally a happy place to find oneself, but if we are going to take our Let’s Go! theme seriously, we’ll find ourselves needing to go into some unhappy places.  And find the Lord already there, already at work, as we do in Judges!

As the book opens, Israel has entered the Promised Land and has taken possession of it.  They have received the covenant and Law, and the tabernacle (tent) of God is in their midst.  Mission accomplished, God’s promise fulfilled, right?  Not so fast … 

The Israelites have fallen into a tragic pattern: they forget about God, so God “forgets’’ about them … which means that their enemies, the Midianites from the east and the Philistines from the west, repeatedly attack and subjugate them.  God’s people cry out to God for help, and he raises up “judges,” God-appointed leaders, to rescue them.  Following the rescue, the people “forget” again, and the cycle repeats.

But God continues to be faithful.  In this week’s passage, we have one of those classic biblical “Who, me?” moments.  God seeks Gideon out and commissions him to deliver Israel.  Gideon, like Moses, responds along the lines of, “You must be mistaken … you’ve got the wrong person … I’m not qualified, have no experience … Who, me?”

Yes: you, Gideon.

And yes, you, reader of Connect Devotionals!

No, we’re not all called to be upfront/out-front leaders.  The issue is never the “size” of the assignment, but the “size” of the One who calls.  Whether God calls to lead, to follow, to serve, or whatever, God never issues a “trivial” assignment: there are no “small” things in God.

Where are you finding yourself having some kind of “Gideon-conversation” with God: “No, Lord, that can’t be right … I don’t see myself doing that … I’m certainly not qualified to be a [fill in the blank] … find somebody else … Who, me?”

Yup: you.

Is there a crazy, impossible, ‘unrealistic’ idea that is working in you, that you suspect might actually be from God?  Whom could you talk with, who could help you pray and get further clarity?  Let’s go!