Becoming Strong and Bright

Judges 5: ³¹ “So may all your enemies perish, Lord!
    But may all who love you be like the sun
    when it rises in its strength.”

Then the land had peace forty years.

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After speaking to the dean I was allowed back in school on special probation.  I focused and got on the dean’s list with great grades. I was at peace. After graduating tried hanging out with the “fun crowd, but something was missing.  I felt uneasy again. When I slowly started learning about GOD and what HE desires, I was at peace.

I started climbing the corporate ladder and ran into people who didn’t want me to succeed. I was uneasy. When I gave my career to GOD to do with it as HE pleased, I was at peace.

• Life is difficult and I face many obstacles.
• Life has some people who want me to fail.
• Life has situations that make me feel uneasy.

“What does peace look like?” I had to ask myself. Peace is a place that is devoid of worries, fear or doubt. It has joy and sometimes happiness. Peace is a place where I can actually see with clarity and feel free and fly high.

• GOD gives me peace when I focus on HIM.
• GOD provides so I can have peace.
• GOD gives me peace when I trust HIM.
• GOD protects so I can have peace.

Obstacles, trials and circumstances challenge my trust in the LORD. Each time HE delivers me, it makes me stronger and more dependent on HIM. HE makes me brighter and stronger which gives me peace.

• Are you restless?
• Are you confused?
• Can you face your problems with peace?
• Won’t you say to yourself “GOD is my peace” rather than focusing on the situation?

The LORD is ahead of me

Judges 4: ¹⁴ Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?” So Barak went down Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men following him. ¹⁵ At Barak’s advance, the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot.

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“07734” were the numbers I used to type “hELL0” on the bulky calculator of the olden days! This was about the extent of my exposure to computers, yet the industry fascinated me. Four years later I entered college and felt overwhelmed. I didn’t even know where to get registered for my classes. Twenty years later I was the head of a department of technology people.

When I was going through school and entry level jobs, I had no idea what was in store for me. BUT GOD did.

• Sometimes I focus too much on the problems of today.
• Sometimes I want the obstacles to go away by themselves.
• Sometimes I think problems are much greater than they are.

If you would have told me I was going to be the head of a department when I received a letter from the dean stating I was no longer in school, I would have told you, “you are crazy!” BUT GOD said something much different than the problem I was facing at the time.

• GOD knows the plan HE has for me and it is good.
• GOD knows the obstacles I face and knows exactly how to strengthen me with them.
• GOD knows exactly how long to let a problem persist in order for me to fully understand HIS salvation in the matter.

Looking back, I can clearly see that it was GOD all along who was way ahead of me clearing my path. HE fought my battles and comforted me when I fell, over and over. HE taught me to pray for others especially those who do not like me and HE will fight all my battles. HE clears the way!

• Are you facing problems?
• Do you think you are alone?
• Can you look back on your life and see how GOD has worked in your life?
• Won’t you let HIM do marvelous things with your life by following HIS plan for you?

Is the obstacle a test?

Judges 3 These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan² (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience):

³ the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. ⁴ They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses.

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“Why am I not getting promoted?” ran through my mind on my second and a half job out of college.  It seemed like I would get hired, but not elevated.  “What’s the problem?” I asked someone.  They gave me some tips that I followed to the letter, still no promotion. In fact many people gave me tips here and there and nothing happened.

Finally I met a few mentors who taught me how to face obstacles with resiliency. I got promoted.

• When I want things to come to me easy I have a wrong expectation.
• When I give up too early because it is too hard I have a wrong expectation.
• When I want to sit back and let the plan work itself out I have a wrong expectation.

Obstacles seem to pop up at the worst time and I used to think the Devil was the cause of problems and GOD was in charge of solutions, but I left one person out of the equation, me.

• GOD sometimes wants me to grow so HE places obstacles in my way that I can handle.
• GOD allows me to face the consequences of my sin here on earth so I won’t have to face eternal consequences.
• GOD uses obstacles to get my attention when I have forgotten about HIM or when I think I can survive on my own.

There is a way that seems right to me, but the way of the LORD is far above my thinking. Instead of running away from the obstacle, I must face it no matter how large it may seem because GOD has a plan for it.

• Are you facing obstacles?
• Do you think GOD has left you on your own?
• Can you stop sulking about the obstacle for a moment and look to GOD’s power?
• Won’t you recognize where your talent and abilities come from and thank GOD for the gifts HE has given you?

GOD gives hope

Judges 2: ¹⁸ Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord relented because of their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them.

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Staring out the windshield, my mind pleaded with the bus driver to move a little faster. It was cold and the bus was late so I could miss my connection. I could see the other bus loading passengers as our bus crept sluggishly to the stop.

I ran out waving my arms and hands to no avail. My friend and I had missed the bus and we had to stand there shivering for an eternity! A car horn blew at us. One of the teacher’s saw us and gave us a ride all the way to school. (You could do that back then). She rescued us at the right time!

• Sometimes things look bleak and I lose hope.
• Sometimes things look impossible and I lose hope.
• Sometimes the word passes me by and I lose hope.

There have been many situations in which it “seemed” like there was no hope. After whatever expectation I set in my mind wasn’t met, I would desire to sit in the corner balled up like a baby. Just when I lose hope GOD does something different.

• When I stop fretting I can open my eyes to who GOD delivered to rescue me.
• When I stop pouting I can open my eyes to see who GOD sent to help me.
• When I stop feeling sorry for myself I can open my eyes to see GOD at work on HIS masterful plan.

Troubling situations never feel good. They cause me to groan and moan like the best of them. BUT GOD has delivered me from so many troubling situations, I can hardly count them. HE leads me besides still waters. HE restores my soul.

• Are you worried about your situation?
• Do you find yourself in the same cycle of worry and deliverance?
• Can you break the cycle and put your trust in GOD for good?
• Won’t you tell someone about HIS deliverance?

My plan can only work one way

Judges 1:1 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Canaanites?”

² The Lord answered, “Judah shall go up; I have given the land into their hands.”

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“Swagger” was another term for arrogance in the business. As I sat back and observed the partners of the company, I noticed they were very tough and deliberate.  In an effort to model their behavior, I had to become tough, but something else emerged. I learned how to “self-promote” in a smooth and cunning way.

I began to believe in myself so I set off in the direction “I” dreamt of. After a while it seemed like the partners who I patterned my style after, turned against me. My plans fell apart. I wonder who I could have consulted.

• When I develop plans without GOD they fail.
• When I think I make my plans successful under my own strength I fail.
• When I doubt I need GOD and try things on my own I fail.

GOD wants me to consult HIM and ask HIM which way HE wants me to go. HE wants me to allow HIM to say “No” or “Wait” or “Yes” when I ask HIM for something. If my heart is aching over the answer then I am not giving GOD the room to do as HE pleases with my life.

• GOD wants me to believe HE has the best plan for me no matter how strange it may look.
• GOD wants me to share my belief publicly so HE can get the glory and draw people to HIM.
• GOD wants me to trust in HIS plan and to quit sulking when things look bleak.

After asking and listening, I should act in total belief of GOD’s blessing. When GOD says “go” I need to be ready to do as HE says. I must admit, HIS methods seemed quite strange to me and HE had me do some things in a very strange fashion, but when I look back, I can definitely see how HIS kingdom will grow and how HE has grown me!

• Is your plan falling apart?
• Are you feeling exhausted?
• Can you consult GOD to see if HE is in your plan?
• Won’t you ask HIM for clarity today and accept HIS answer

Who will I serve?

Joshua 24: ¹⁴ “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ¹⁵ But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

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Birds were chirping and the sun was shining bright in the sky.  I could hear the laughter from people outside, yet we were stuck in church listening to a guy hollering about something. As I tried to get comfortable to go to sleep, my mother looked at me with one of those looks. Man! “Why do I have to sit here while everyone else is outside having “fun!?” I immaturely thought to myself. Now that I’m older, I understand.

• Serving GOD is a choice not a sentence.
• Serving GOD is a choice not an inconvenience.
• Serving GOD is a choice not a forced relationship.

It’s real easy to go to another god when I’m looking to get my way. I mean I can find any other god to satisfy my desire for pleasure especially if it won’t tell me to have faith or trust in the unknown or will enable me to tangibly see a pile of money so I can have insurance and security. BUT GOD doesn’t work that way in my life.

• GOD wants me to trust HIM when I can’t see what HE’s doing.
• GOD wants me to love HIM when I don’t feel like loving.
• GOD wants me to choose HIM as a sacrifice rather than a duty.

It’s so easy to become a rotten scoundrel. That path seems to be open and wide and it seems like everyone on it is having “fun” and are “wealthy” and “getting away with it” whatever “it” is. BUT GOD wants something different for me. HE challenges me to stay on HIS path, guiding others back to HIM.

HE doesn’t want me to be nervous about the things of this world because HE holds all of them. HE would rather have me focus on HIM and all these things will be added to me.

• Who or what are you serving?
• Are you following GOD or following your own way?
• Can you trust HIM a little more today and let go of your problems?
• Won’t you let GOD put you back on HIS path?

GOD is still a jealous GOD

^{Joshua 23:14} “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. ¹⁵ But just as all the good things the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. 

¹⁶ If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.”

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“What’s your sign?” was the confusing question of the unmentioned decade. Yes I’m old! Someone told me my “sign” and I didn’t think anything of it until the newspaper arrived. My horoscope said something in some futuristic kind of vague language that caught my attention. From then I looked at my horoscope wondering if “it” was going to tell me my future.

• I have made the mistake of placing superstition over GOD.
• I have made the mistake of putting my trust in winning the Lottery rather than trusting GOD.
• I have made the mistake of carrying around a lucky item rather than believing all blessings come from GOD.

Some of my superstitions even crept into church where I would treat the items with higher esteem than people. When I believed in a lucky or superstitious thing, it seemed like my wants and desires weren’t being met. How can I get my way?

• GOD says “Do not place any other god before ME” including lucky items or superstitions.
• GOD says “I will supply your needs” including food, shelter and sometimes money.
• GOD says “I will provide” including the right people, job, health and customers.

For me, I have to follow GOD.  It seems like I can’t even dabble in believing in a piece of wood or a cloth or even a printed book. I must believe in the word GOD has given to guide me along the way. The more I can follow HIS commandment of loving one another the better off I am.

• Are you following something that is not of GOD?
• Do you believe in something that GOD is not blessing you with?
• Can you drop your superstition or belief in luck and turn to GOD?
• Will you start trusting in GOD a little more today?