I wonder how many people have been asking this question in the middle of this crisis? Believe it or not, this isn’t a new question. In fact, we will see it implied in our text today for Blogging Through The Bible In 2020. Judges 6:13 says, “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.'”
Gideon is being given an incredible privilege and blessing in our text, he is talking face to face with God, though he doesn’t realize it at first. Gideon is voicing what I’m sure all of Israel was wondering at the time, and what many people today are wondering. Israel is believing that God has forgotten then or turned His back on them. When in reality, God was doing exactly what He said He would do, and He was doing the most merciful thing He could do for Israel at that time. The same is true today, even in the face of this current crisis. While Israel, and many today, are blaming God or others for this; not one time did they ever ask what their part in this was. Today, just like Israel in our story, people like to blame God or anyone else for their troubles. Yet, as we go into the New Testament, if we read James 4:1-3 we see a different story. James tells us that most of the wars and fightings that occur between people happens because of our own sinful, selfish nature.
We need to learn to see our circumstances for what they are. There are certainly times in which we are the victims of other people’s choices. But more often than not, we are suffering the consequences of our own choices. Why do we blame others? We blame them because it is easier than doing the hard work of examining ourselves. Yet, if we are going to be right with God, the first place we must begin is with ourselves. We must ask God to search us and reveal our part in the mess. In these days of social distancing and self-quarantine, we need to make sure that we are doing our part to help slow the spread of COVID-19. The Lord hasn’t forgotten us and He hasn’t forsaken us. Instead, He is purifying us. He is strengthening our faith as we have asked Him to do. He is building His kingdom as we have prayed. I don’t know when this will end, but one day it will. Let’s just make sure that we learn the lesson that God is trying to teach us.
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Justin