Stiffnecked People

Deuteronomy 9: 4 -6  Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee.
Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.

I am a stiffnecked person.  No, literally, today my neck is locked up on me and I can not turn my head to the left without a great deal of pain.  I am stiffnecked.  I had to chuckle when I read these verses that I had written in my journal some weeks back.  Of course then, this is what I wrote:

This is a good picture of the fact that God did not save me because I was worthy, righteous or upright in heart.  He saved me because of His mercy!

But today, I have a stiff neck.  I often get stiff necks because a nerve gets pinched and causes this to happen.  Now, as I read this verse, it brings a new meaning to my stiff necks.  It is a physical reminder to me of the fact that God saved me because of His mercy, not because of anything I have done to deserve it.

Dear Father, Thank You for tangible reminders of Your love each day, even if some of them are physically painful.  It brings new meaning and purpose to my troubles.  Amen.

Why God Allows Us to Be Weak

Judges 7:2 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.

Here is the reason God prefers to use weak vessels to accomplish His purposes.  It's because if we are strong in ourselves we may claim glory against God and boast that we accomplished the task by ourselves.  Therefore, God will prune us down to size to keep us humble so that when He does a good work in and through us, we and those around us will know God was the One Who did it.
It goes right along with Paul's thorn in the flesh.  

2 Corinthians 12: 7 -9 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.  For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

God knows our weaknesses because He gave them to us.  It should bring great comfort to know that He has a perfect plan to use our weakness to help us trust Him more.  If we were self-sufficient we would have no need for God and the world would only see us instead of Him at work in our lives.

Dear Father, It is a comfort to know that You have a perfect plan for the weaknesses You have given us.  Help us to remember that these thorns are only there to make the rose of Your grace all that more visible to those around us.  Amen.
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Thou Mighty Man of Valour

Judges 6: 12 -16And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.  
And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.  
And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father¹s house.  And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.

I just had to snicker when I read the story of Gideon.  I am so much like Gideon!  If I had to paraphrase this, it would go like this:
"The Lord is with you, you mighty woman of valor!"
"But Lord, if you are with me, why has all this trouble come on me and my family?  I read of all Your miracles in the Bible, but now it looks like You have forsaken me."
"Go in this might of yours, and face the troubles you have: have not I sent you?"
"But Lord, I can't face all these things, I don't have the strength to manage all this.  I am too weak.  It's too much for me."
"Surely I will be with you.  You will be able to do what I have asked you because I will give you the strength you need to do it."

Here are some things to consider:
1. God had confidence that Gideon was a mighty man of valor because He would work through him and make him a mighty man of valor.  God will work through you to make you what He wants you to be too.
2. Gideon focused on all his troubles instead of God's past faithfulness and concluded that God had forsaken him.  How often do we do the same thing?
3. God says for you to go in this might of yours and face your trouble because He has sent you and He will be with you.  Your might or strength may be weak, but because God is with you you can face it.  It won't be your strength that shines through but God's.  The weaker we are the better God can use us because then we are depending on Him instead of ourselves.

What Midianites are in your life right now? Illness/Pain? Financial difficulty? Bad relationships?  Death of a loved one?  Illness of a loved one?  Parenting issues?  Home-school difficulties? Fill in the blank.
God will be with you so go in this might of yours...He will give you the strength to face these things!

Dear Father, We so often focus on the difficulties and forget that You are faithful and You will be with us in these battles.  Thank you for this reminder today.  Amen.

This Is A Test

James 1:2-4 ¶ My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

"This is a test of the emergency broadcast systems.  This is only a test..."  
I wish for every time a trial came into my life that I had a little TV screen in my head that would play this warning across it. "This is a test of your faith in God.  This is only a test..."
Perhaps if I could be reminded of this each time a trial came, I would respond differently.  Perhaps I would remain calmer.  Maybe I would not react with irritation and say or do things I regret later.  
But God doesn't flash test warnings before He gives us a test.  Most of the time they are "pop" quizzes that we are not expecting.  That is why we need to study before-hand and be prepared even though we don't know when the next test will be.  We need to be in the Word each day, letting God's Word sink deep into our hearts so that we are prepared when the next test comes to respond in a godly manner.  I must confess, though, that sometimes even after careful preparation, I still respond wrongly.  I could beat myself over the head for this or I can come to God in repentance, accept His forgiveness and then prepare myself for the next time by arming myself with scripture that pertains to the proper way to respond.  It's a growing process much like school.  My children study and prepare to take a test and they will get problems wrong often.  I try to show them that they don't need to beat themselves up for it.  They just need to go back and look at what the right answer should have been and prepare for the next time that question might show up.  We need to do the same with life's trials and tests.
Have you had a test recently?  How did you do?  Do you need to study more?  Let's all dig deep into God's Word and prepare ourselves in prayer for the next test.  After all, God doesn't flash test warnings, so we need to be prepared and ready.

Dear Father, We often react in wrong ways when tests and trials come our way.  Help us to prepare ourselves by soaking in Your Word and by prayer, so that we may respond in a way that is glorifying to You.  Amen.