Judges 5:1-13

God's blessing needs to be received and celebrated with gratitude. When God does something for us, the natural response of our hearts should be to praise Him and acknowledge publicly what He has done.   

Judges 3:7-31

God uses different kinds of people; He uses Othniels, Ehuds, Shamgars, and He will use you too if you would only trust in Him. God uses people who draw their strength from Him; those who wait for the Lord will exchange their weaknesses for His strength. And God uses people who step out in faith and trust Him; the three judges had the courage to take a risk for God, and were bold enough to trust in God's promises of victory and confront the enemy.

Whoever you are, God has a place for you. Your limitations are not a problem for Him. Accept yourself - not your sins, but your limitations. God does. Step out in faith to see Him accept you as a unique individuals and work through you for His glory.  

Judges 2:19-3:6

Have you ever wondered why God does not take away your sinful nature? Why there are so many areas of weakness in your life, and such difficult problems and obstacles for you to overcome? Why are there so many needs around for you to fill? Are you ever perplexed by the persistence of unsolved problems in even the most biblically-faithful fellowships?

Part of the answer is found in - the Lord uses those difficulties to teach us how to wage spiritual war. He wants to shake us out of our apathy and teach us to trust Him. Often it is only when the enemy has completely overrun us, and all our resources are gone, that we develop a teachable spirit. These times of failures and crisis become teaching times as the Lord shows us how to make war - how to trust in Him. 

The implication of this strategy for our lives is clear; we cannot stand still in our Christian experience. If we try to stand still, we can be sure that the principalities and powers arrayed against us will not. Either we advance or we perish.   

Judges 2:14-15

 

We often live in our weakness, ignoring God's presence until all the treads begin to unravel. Then, in our desperation, we call out, praying and begging for Him to intervene and put the pieces back together again. This kind of prayer can be a life-changing experience that turns everything around. Or it can be a shallow, superficial call for help, forgotten as soon as things improve.

The amazing fast is that, no matter how deep our sin or how shallow our prayer, God hears us. Each time His people's call, God hears and intervenes. Not once does He refuse or turn His back. He does not condition His help on their improvement or on their past record, but on their need. The throne we approach in prayer is a throne of grace, where we receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.