Stuck - Gideon and Me

 

Have you ever felt stuck?

Something like that old saying, “between a rock and a hard place”?

Not just wondering if you will ever get “unstuck” but also wondering what the process will be.

It could be career related, relationship related – or for me lately – health related.

In my day job, I often have to talk with people dealing with a nasty new diagnosis or having to live with a persistent chronic condition.

Somethings are hard to get out of – and frankly, often there is no escape.

There’s something to be said for making the most of a bad situation, making lemonade out of lemons, and being content in whatever circumstance we find ourselves in – but living it is harder than saying it.

In Judges 6 Gideon was wondering just that. Gideon’s people, the people of Israel, were paying the price for having done evil in the sight of the Lord (Judges 6:1). Something they were incredibly good at if you read Exodus or Numbers or Judges – most of the Old Testament actually.

During the time of the Judges, “everyone did what was right in their own eyes” – pretty much like today – “I do what I want!” When there are no standards or when the standards are forgotten or rejected or when we make up our own standards, things don’t usually go well. It’s very hard standing on Jello.

The Lord let the Midianites deal out discipline to His rebellious children. These Midianites were nasty. They drove the Israelites into hiding and waited until the Israelites had done their planting so they could come and destroy the land. The Bible says they were like locusts and devastated the land (Judges 6:1-5).

So Israel was brought very low because of Midian and the sons of Israel cried to the Lord (Judges 6:6).

This is the pattern in the book of Judges – the people are a law to themselves, defying God’s Word. The Lord sends discipline in the form of some neighboring power to get them to repent. The people suffer for a while. It gets so bad that they cry out to the Lord for deliverance. The Lord picks someone to work through to save them – a judge. Then the Israelites are peaceful for a while during that judge’s rule. Rinse and repeat!

This time the Lord visits Gideon (Judges 6:11).

Gideon was in a winepress – this was a large hole in the ground where they would stomp on grapes to make wine. Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress. I’ve never threshed wheat – but apparently it is a dusty job where you smack the wheat stalks on the ground to separate the good wheat kernels from the worthless chaff which is the husk around the grain. They usually threshed wheat on the threshing floor, so that the bothersome chaff could just blow away. Gideon however was threshing his wheat in a hole in the ground which had to be a messy and dusty, not to mention a claustrophobic little job.

Gideon was trying to hide that wheat from the Midianites – the menace that was plaguing his and his peoples’ lives. He was making the best of a bad situation and trying to survive.

It must have really been lousy.

While Gideon was no doubt sweaty, struggling with chaff in his nose and contemplating his life, the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior” (Judges 6:11-12).

This was rather an ironic thing to say – Gideon did not feel very valiant. He certainly didn’t look like a warrior covered in dust and hiding in a hole. He even reminded the angel of the Lord that he was the youngest in an unimportant family.

But the angel of the LORD said, “Go in this your strength and deliver Israel – Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man” (Judges 6:14-16).

Lesson 1 from Gideon on being stuck – God sees what we don’t. Our worth and purpose are not tied up in our life’s circumstances. If we have been called, who we are is tied up in who He is.

Gideon was a mess, struggling in a difficult situation, confused. He had no authority, strength or position, but the Lord saw a valiant warrior and the next deliverer of Israel.

The first mission the Lord gave Gideon was to tear down and destroy the false idols that his father had set up.

Lesson 2 from Gideon on being stuck – make sure you are right with the Lord.

We suffer in this life for all kinds of reasons and it is certainly not always because of sin, but the scripture does tell us to examine ourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5). It’s very easy, and in our nature to blame others for our misfortunes, but we have to be truthful with ourselves and keep our record clean. The Lord already knows.

When Gideon tore down those idols, he did it at night and in the dark because he was afraid (Judges 6:25-27). When Gideon was assembling his army, he asked God for proof twice to be sure he was really going to win the battle (Judges 6:36-40).

Lesson 3 from Gideon on being stuck – God is patient with our fears and insecurities. We can obey even when afraid, even in the dark. We can even be annoying – He is still faithful. He will honor our efforts in being faithful to Him – even when they are not very heroic.

Being stuck may be a brief experience or a long one, but we don’t have to be alone in it.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).