Judges 6:33-40
Soon afterward the armies of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east formed an alliance against Israel and crossed the Jordan, camping in the valley of Jezreel.Then the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with power. He blew a ram’s horn as a call to arms, and the men of the clan of Abiezer came to him. He also sent messengers throughout Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, summoning their warriors, and all of them responded. Then Gideon said to God, “If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised." And that is just what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowlful of water. Then Gideon said to God, “Please don’t be angry with me, but let me make one more request. Let me use the fleece for one more test. This time let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew.” So that night God did as Gideon asked. The fleece was dry in the morning, but the ground was covered with dew.
Greetings friends,
Yesterday, I Iistened to this great sermon by Dr. Voddie Baucham on the mind and modern spirituality. It left me a little bit uncomfortable, because as he said it would, his message challenged a part of my worldview. But, it also gave me much food for thought, and I believe gave me a better understanding of what "God's will" actually means. I'm sharing this today in the hopes that by the Grace, Mercy and Love of the Lord, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, his message will do the same for you.
Every since the reawakening of my faith in 2015, I've attended many different gatherings with many different Christians from all walks of life. Thanks to the internet, I've watched many sermons, talks and videos on all sorts of topics related to Christianity. Being brought up in the Catholic faith, and still practicing it, Catholicism is always my frame of reference. I don't agree with certain practices within the Catholic doctrine. But all the fundamental things I believe wholeheartedly, and so I will always identify as a Catholic Christian, defending what I believe, while conceding to what I don't, because the truth should be more important than what church we attend. The church is the vehicle that's going to get you to The Lord, not the Lord Himself.
This brings me to the topic of today's discussion... I've titled my post "The God-said brigade", because it's a growing movement within Christian circles that I've experienced, where Christians in their zeal for growing closer to God, won't make any kind of decision until they've "heard from God". Dr Voddie addresses this by pointing out the language people who do this use, and I can relate because I've heard this type of language many times, and I've been inclined to try it myself as well. So, for example, a person has a big decision to make, and before they make it, they're going to fast and pray about it. Then whatever brings them more peace, they conclude that it's God talking to them about what to do, as Dr. Voddie said, "as if God won't sometimes push us to do something that brings us no peace".
Let me just clarify here, that I've done this before and God has guided me in this way, and I only moved forward when I had peace in my heart, that no matter what, The Lord was with me. So, I'm not against this practice, and this is why I said Dr. Voddie's stance made me uncomfortable because I don't entirely agree with him. There's nothing wrong in asking God for a sign, and for guidance when it comes to big decisions, and trust me, if we do it with absolute faith. God will hear our prayers. Provided our intentions are to be obedient to Him, and not just for selfish gain. If we look at Gideon in the bible, he asked God for two signs and God answered him both times.
Why? Because Gideon's intentions were truly to please God and not be disobedient, it wasn't a lack of faith. He had already decided, he just needed confirmation that God would be with him, because he didn't want to go ahead and risk failing at the task God had given him. Gideon knew he couldn't operate in his own strength alone and wanted to make sure he was doing the right thing, his faith, and humility pleased God, and that's why God was happy to confirm his request for two signs.Intentions matter always. But, Dr. Voddie makes a valid point that I have to concede when he says people who pray about things and only act according to "the measure of peace" they feel, are teetering along the fine line of paganism. He said that the pagans practiced things like necromancy and crystal ball reading to "be one with the gods" and gain divine knowledge.
When we constantly ask God for signs about everything and ask Him to "confirm" things before we make a decision about every aspect of our lives. Isn't that a form of trying to "gain Divine knowledge and be one with Our Lord"? As Dr. Voddie said, we're not meant to know every part of God's Will for our lives. That's what pagans want. Most of the time, we are to pray, fast and then make a decision applying our faith, trusting that The Lord will be with us no matter what the outcome. This is the part where I was given much food for thought, because it's true. I am pro asking God for signs when it comes to big life decisions and think it isn't wrong to act upon a measure of peace that we may feel, because Jesus is the Prince of Peace, so it would be silly to just rush into anything without having a "peace about it". However, like Gideon, we need to analyse our intentions for asking God when we're doing it. Are we asking Him for guidance because we want to be obedient to Him, and give Him the glory and honour when He guides us?
Or are we just asking because we want Him to agree with what we're feeling and then dress up our lack of faith with "hearing from God", so we appear wise and spiritual to others? What if the path we choose goes wrong? Are we going to blame God for "misinforming us" or take accountability for our decision and admit that perhaps our intentions weren't 100% in the right place when we declared so boldly that we're "waiting to hear from God"? My friends, in my opinion, our relationship with The Lord should be built on the same criteria that a good marriage is built on. Honesty, Trust, Good communication and Loyalty. For those of you who are married or in a serious long term relationship, you will agree with me when I say there are aspects of your relationship with your partner that are to remain sacred between the two of you and should never be shared with anyone else. Correct?
I believe the same can be said about our relationship with Jesus. There are certain things we may pray about and ask Him for that are to remain between the two of us, because He answered those prayers to increase our own faith alone and confirm to us that He is with us. If we share those things, just like when we share more intimate parts of our personal relationships, it may come across as boastful and self-elevating. For example, if you are in the habit of making breakfast in bed for your spouse, it's a beautiful thing that enriches your relationship because it feeds the mutual love you have. That's an intimate thing that no one else needs to know, and if you share it... Guess what's going to happen? It's going to make all the other couples who don't do that, feel like they're not good enough for their spouses and create unrealistic expectations in other people's relationships that might not fit their dynamic. I used a weak example, but it's just to illustrate that not everything should be public domain. In the same way, maybe The Lord only confirms things for us, for our personal growth and to affirm our faith. The minute we share it, it creates a unrealistic expectation in other Christians who don't have that kind of dynamic in their relationship with The Lord that makes them feel less, and we inadvertently exalt ourselves when we do this.
I will conclude by saying just like marriages can grow and flourish by changing some of the ways we behave towards our spouses. For example, if we didn't make breakfast in bed for them before, maybe we should start now and see how it changes our relationship for the better. In the same way, perhaps if we're willing to try something different in our faith, our relationship with The Lord can also grow deeper and flourish. Again, I'm not opposed to asking for signs etc... But, as Dr. Voddie said, we need to be aware of the fine line between applying our faith, and not moving until God has given us "the inside story" on what He wants. That's paganistic by nature and could lead others down a deceptive path that most certainly won't lead to Jesus. Whether we temporarily join the "God-Said" brigade for a personal decision, or we're confronted with "God-Said" brigade Christians who seem to have God on speed dial for every single decision they make... God doesn't have favourites. So, be wary of those who appear to have a "higher" connection to God than others.... Always pray, discern intentions and act in faith, trusting that The Lord is sovereign and will ultimately see us through because His Will prevails always.
Take care of yourselves and each other.
Shalom.
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