Never Forsaken
ICS Daily Devotions
Judges 6:12-13 (NKJV) And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valour!”Gideon said to Him, “O my Lord if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”
At the time of the opening passage, Israel was being attacked by the Midianites, and going through possibly the most humiliating time in their nation’s history due to their departure from God. God had allowed the Midianites to attack and torment them because Israel had violated the conditional Mosaic covenant. These people were God’s chosen people who were in covenant with Him, but they were not living their best lives. Likewise, we may not be living up to the fullness of what the abundant life offers because our identity isn’t in Christ.
Very often, we will only be teachable and mouldable when we are humbled and brought to a low point in our lives because we are constantly puffed up by pride and our self-ego. Praise be to God that He will always respond to the cries of His covenant partners. Just like God responded to the cry of the Israelites when they were oppressed by the Egyptians, God responded to their cry and delivered them from the Midianites by raising up a man—Gideon.
There were many occasions in the Bible where angels were dispatched to bring forth the answers to people’s prayers. However, on this occasion, God Himself came and sat beside Gideon under the terebinth tree. The Lord was present when Israel and Gideon were at the lowest point despite their rebelliousness. He will never leave or forsake His people despite their faithlessness. Therefore, just like He remained faithful to the Israelites, He will remain faithful to us too, because He doesn’t forget His covenant obligation, which is to face every adversity together with His covenant partners.
Nonetheless, like Gideon, sometimes we feel abandoned and forsaken by God when we are down and miserable. God came down to Gideon just like Jesus came down to us. While God took the effort to journey with Gideon, He has also allowed the Holy Spirit to reside in us as our comforter when we are downtrodden and oppressed by our circumstances. It showed forth the character of God—He is faithful, willing, and available.
Hebrews 13:5-6 (NKJV) Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
Sermon Series: How to Do Well in Your New Identity?
