Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!” Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” Judges 6: 11-13, NKJV.
Dear God, here we are before You, seeking Your face and searching for answers to our questions. Please speak to us through Your Word, and show us favor this day. We ask these blessings in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
Does the conversation between Gideon and the LORD ring a bell inside of you? Does the title of our devotional seem terribly familiar? I do not know what your answers to these questions are, but my answer to both questions, is yes. I have not always verbalized the question, but I have pondered it in my heart. There are things that have happened in my life, and in the life of family members and friends, that I do not fully understand. And there was a time, when I thought it was a sin to ask the LORD why He had permitted certain things to happen. When I began to spend more time in God’s presence, and in prayer and the study of His Word, I began to see that God was not threatened by my questions, nor did He condemn me for asking them. Oh, the joy of knowing, and serving, a God who is bigger than all my doubts and fears!
Let us look for a few minutes at the situation that prompted the question. The people of Israel were being oppressed by their enemies, the Midianites. They would sow their fields, but were not permitted to enjoy the fruit of their labor. When the land would bring forth its fruit, the Midianites, accompanied by the Amalekites, would come into their fields, along with their livestock, and destroy the harvest that the earth had produced. Scripture informs us that this condition prevailed for seven long years!
So the people of Israel cried to the LORD, and He heard their cry! Aren’t you glad that you and I serve a God whose ear is not heavy, or His hand shortened (Isaiah 59: 1), and “[whose] heart is touched with [our] grief ” (Frank E. Graeff)? And the Angel of the LORD came down! None other than Jesus Himself! The Captain of the LORD’s hosts (22, 23)! I wonder if we are aware just how powerful prayer is? Some prayers are so powerful that the Lord Himself will descend from heaven in answer to these prayers! Hallelujah!
It is worthy of mention that Jesus did not answer Gideon’s question. Instead, He gave him the solution to the problem, “Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you” (14)? There are times when we are asking God why, while God is waiting to show us how!
You see my friends, it does not take much effort, if any at all, to ask God why. The effort is needed to put the solution (how) into effect. Usually, the question why implies blaming someone else. We see ourselves as the victims. We are the ones being wronged, or detained, or overlooked. “Why me?” But the how will almost always require effort on our part. How can I get out of this situation? What can I do to make my situation better? Where can I go to get help? It is easy to sit and fold our hands and feel sorry for ourselves, but it will be of benefit to us, and oftentimes, to others, to go in search of solutions. Who knows, the solution might be in our own hands!
We will continue this conversation.