Last week I was reading about Gideon when he says, "'Pardon me, my lord,' Gideon replied, 'but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?'" (Judges 6:13). First of all.. how polite is he? I should start every prayer with a little "pardon me, my lord" and see how that goes! But really... how often are we asking the question... but God, I signed up to be on your team, why are crappy things still happening to me? We try to quote him... but God you said if I picked you, things would be good. Instead... He said "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." (James 1:2-3).
Trials? Who agreed to that? It's much easier to get people to sign up for a God who could guarantee happiness and only good things (joel osteen anyone?). I can appreciate Gideon's question... but even more than the question, I can appreciate God's answer. “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” (Judges 6:14). I feel like that should be enough... I want that to be enough. God giving me the strength and knowing He's sending me should be enough. Of course it's not always enough and obviously wasn't for Gideon as he continues to pester God and eventually even tests him with the fleece. I want to trust God the first time and know He is with me and helping me develop perseverance.
As a follow-up, Sunday's sermon was about the "not so abundant life." It seemed like Pastor Cook was piggy backing off of Gideon when he was talking about John 10 and looking for Jesus' words to come to fruition when he said "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10). Sweet concept, but are we really living life to the full? He said we're usually not for one of two reasons... we haven't chosen to follow Christ or... we're carrying burdens God never intended us to carry. I'm still letting that one simmer this week as I try to figure out which burdens I'm carrying and need to let go. He mentioned guilt, worry, doubt... I can't get the mental picture out of my head when he talked about the weary traveler heading to the airport with a ton of luggage and carry-on bags and feeling such a relief when he finally reaches the counter and can get rid of the extra bags. Why are we carrying more than we need to?
On a lighter note... much lighter note... My six and a half year old friend Dawson (you may remember her as the puking kid from a few blogs ago) seemed perturbed today I wasn't married. She's now on a hunt to find me a boyfriend and gave me some great advice I had to share with the masses...
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