Welcome to a new week my Yielded people!
Have you ever found yourself in a season of such overwhelming occurrences that you began to question not God’s existence, but His presence in your life? You know, without a doubt, that God is real but you wonder, Is He truly with me? I’ve walked through those seasons. I know what it means to stagger under the weight of trials, even though Abraham is praised for not staggering at God’s promises through unbelief. And I’m reminded of a man in Scripture who once asked, “If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?”
“The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!” “Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.”
Gideon looked around at Israel, at his own life, at the state of his people. He measured what he saw against what he had heard about God, and questions began to rise within him. Is God really with us? Where were the miracles their ancestors spoke of? Were they only stories from the past? If God was truly with them, why hadn’t He done those mighty works for them too? Why was there so much loss? And with all these unanswered questions, Gideon came to a conclusion: The Lord is no longer with us.
I’ve shared with you the story of how my dad passed away while I was on my knees, praying on the altar. Ehhh I prayyyyeeeed! That moment shook me. It made me wrestle with the very meaning of the name Emmanuel— God with us. Because if He is truly Emmanuel, then why did this happen? Maybe you’ve asked similar questions. I pray, I fast, I seek Him so if God sees me, why am I still without a job? Dear Gideon, dear weary heart God is with you! He has not abandoned you.
Gideon speaks of abandonment. And don’t we feel like that too sometimes? “God has abandoned me.” Or, “God is blessing others, not me. Maybe He has favorites.” I once read a comment from a guy on Instagram who said, “I don’t pray anymore because I feel like God has His favorites.” But you know that’s a lie, right? Scripture tells us that God shows no favoritism (Romans 2:11).
What really happened in that situation is that he grew weary. He took his eyes off God and fixed them on his circumstances. And in doing so, he felt abandoned. Gideon had the same struggle: If the Lord delivered Israel from Pharaoh, then why are we still oppressed by the Midianites?
Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”
Judges 6:12-14 NLT
It’s amazing ! Gideon had strength he never even knew about. He was waiting for God to do a miracle, but God’s response was, The miracle is in you. The key to unlocking breakthrough was already within him. Deliverance was coming, but it was coming through him! We often think we have no strength, but it’s there. Maybe only 30%, maybe 50%, but it’s there. And here’s the truth, Gideon not only is God with you, but He has also equipped you with strength!
Stop entertaining the thought that the Lord has abandoned you. I’ve heard people who are grieving say, God does not exist. Grief is heavy, and losing a loved one is incredibly painful. But no matter how deep the pain, we must never allow any situation to convince us that God is not with us.
While I was praying at the Singles Meet Wives event, God gave me a word. He said, EMMANUEL.
And I want to say this to you, the one asking, “If God is truly Sovereign , then why has all this happened?”
EMMANUEL.
God is with you. Even in the questions, even in the pain, even in the waiting, He is with you.
Blessed Assurance, Emmanuel.