Readings for today: Judges 6-9
Renewal never comes easy. Not in my experience. Renewal in a marriage. Renewal in a family. Renewal in a congregation. Renewal in a community. It comes through hardship and suffering and a lot of pain. There is conflict to manage. Egos to assuage. Obstacles to overcome. Perhaps the biggest challenge is not external but internal. Our insecurities. Our lack of confidence. Our aversion to risk.
Gideon is the least likely of heroes. He’s an insignificant son of the weakest clan in the tribe of Manasseh. He’s just an ordinary guy trying to do his best to make his way in a very tough world. When the angel of the Lord first approaches him, he’s threshing grain in a winepress and attempting to hide from the Midianites. When the angel addresses Gideon as a “mighty man of valor”, Gideon responds by telling him he’s got the wrong guy. He’s showed up at the wrong house. He’s in the wrong part of town. When the angel further tells Gideon he will deliver Israel, Gideon needs multiple confirmations involving a fleece before he will agree. Once the decision is made, Gideon assembles an overwhelming force of men to go with him. God strips his force down to 300. This makes Gideon fearful and anxious. Nothing about this process is easy. Nothing about it is guaranteed. God is taking Gideon beyond himself, forcing him into a place of utter dependence so he will learn to trust in God and not himself.
I see this happen all the time in the marriages, families, churches, and communities I work with. Husbands and wives come into my office at the end of their rope. They’ve done all they can to manage the conflict in their relationship but things have only gotten worse not better. They can’t hear each other. They can’t see each other. They can’t understand each other. They want to call it quits. Meeting with me is often their last resort. Parents and children come into my office at each other’s throats. So much anger. So much hurt. Every conversation seems to devolve into an argument. Voices are raised. Painful things are said. They wound each other deeply. They see no way out. Pastors and other church leaders email or call. They are confused. Frustrated. Hurt. Depressed. Exhausted. They’ve tried so hard to love their church. Tried so hard to serve their church. Tried so hard to lead their church. What have they received in return? Their motives are questioned. Their character is impugned. Their reputation is trashed. People do all they can to subvert and sabotage even their best efforts.
The work of renewal is not for the faint of heart. It requires courage to face down the forces that oppose God’s work. To turn away anger with gentleness. To meet sin with grace. To be a peacemaker in the face of conflict. To persevere under the unrelenting pressure. But God can strengthen the weary heart. God can mend the broken heart. God can give courage to the faint of heart. God specializes in bringing hope in the most hopeless of situations.
Readings for tomorrow: Judges 10-13