Good Morning...Almost Good afternoon. I slept in and finally had a lazy morning.
Judges 3 this morning and i realized as I read it that it's not just their story. It's mine too. It's Ours.
There's this cycle happening that we talked about yesterday and you can pretty much predict it. They forget God.They get comfortable. They let things slide. Next thing you know they're in bondage again. Then they cry out and God shows up. Again. And again. And again.
And I read that and thought, God, how many times have You had to come get me out of something I allowed myself to walk right into?
Not everything God leaves is meant to hurt you. Right at the beginning it says God left some of those nations there on purpose to test them. To teach them how to fight. And I had think about that for a minute because I don't always like that. I like when God removes things. I like when He clears the path for me.
I like when it's easy and obvious and wrapped up with a bow. But sometimes He doesn't remove it Because He's trying to build something in you.
Some of the very things I've prayed away, God has used to train me.
In that Cycle we see the first 3 Judges that are raised up to help the people.
⚔️ Othniel comes in and there's nothing flashy about it. No big dramatic moment. No wild story. Just obedience. And it brings peace for 40 years.
🗡️ Ehud is left handed. Which in that time wasn't the norm. And God uses that. It was the very thing that gave him the advantage.
How many times have we tried to tone ourselves down to fit something God never asked us to fit? Be less this. Be more that. Dial it back. Look more put together. But God made us exactly how he wanted us.
Your voice. Your creativity. Your boldness.
Even your extra moments, That's not something to hide. That's something he can use.
🐂 And then Shamgar. He only gets one verse. That's it. But he takes what he has, an ox goad, and takes out 600 enemies.
Look, you don't need a platform. You don't need a perfect setup. You don't need everything to line up just right. You just need to be willing to say God, use me and what I've got. Judges 3 makes us check ourselevs a little.
Where have we gotten comfortable? Where have we let things creep in that we know don't belong? And also Where are we frustrated because God hasn't removed something and He's actually trying to train us through it?
We can't step away from this chapter without understanding that even with all their back and forth, even with all their mess, every single time they cried out, God answered.
He didn't say, Not again. He didn't roll His eyes. He didn't say, You should know better by now. He raised up deliverance. Every single time.
"But when the people cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer" Judges 3:9
So if you're feeling stuck in a cycle... If you're frustrated with where you are...If you're wondering why God hasn't removed something yet...Cry out to him. Because He still responds. Every single time.
Love Pastor Mandy
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