Are there some things that when you hear them you struggle to believe them? Why is it that if one person tells us something we are skeptical of it, but if someone else tells us the same thing we tend to believe them? The answer to that is this, we tend to trust some people more than we trust others. How does that apply to our belief in the word of God? Today’s text for Blogging Through The Bible In 2020 comes from Judges 4. Judges 4:8 says, “And Barak said to her, ‘If you go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with, I will not go.'”
Israel has once again sinned and turned her back on God. Faithful to His Word, God is using another king from a people group that had not been driven out of the Promised Land yet to oppress the nation of Israel. In our text, God has revealed that He wants to use a man by the name of Barak to defeat Sisera. However, for Barak what God had said wasn’t enough. Barak needed confirmation from Israel’s judge at that time, Deborah. God did end up using Barak to defeat Sisera, but Barak didn’t receive the honor a military commander would normally receive for a military victory. He didn’t receive the honor, because for Barak, the word of the Lord wasn’t enough. He trusted more in his advisors than the sovereign Lord who was going to give the victory.
This chapter shows us an important lesson, God’s word has to be enough for us or we don’t truly have faith in God. There is a time and a place for wise counselors. In fact, Proverbs 11:14 tells us that there is safety in a multitude of counselors. But the word or advice of our counselors shouldn’t carry more weight than what God has said. As a believer, we are called to walk by faith, not by sight. God will call us to do things and go places that don’t make a lot of sense to us. However, it is in those times in which God is the most glorified and our faith is strengthened the most. I certainly believe we are going to see something like this as a result of what we are going through with COVID-19. Churches aren’t able to meet and a lot of uncertainty is arising, but I believe we are going to see God doing some miraculous things in His people and through His people, if we will just trust Him and obey Him. I won’t pretend to know what God might do, but I know He is a God of the miraculous. Until we know what He wants us to do, let’s continue to do what He has told us to do last which is to pray, to study, to serve, to worship, and to make disciples!
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Justin