When We Don’t Understand God

Today I looked at the life of Gideon in my quiet time. The Israelites were in an oppressive situation because of their own idolatry and disobedience. Finally, they cried out to the Lord (Judges 6:6). God answered by raising up Gideon to be His man for the hour. God met Gideon where he was at. And where was Gideon? In a place of misunderstanding and misinterpreting God. God knew that Gideon thought He had abandoned Gideon and His people. He interpreted the difficulty as abandonment by God. So the first thing God said to Gideon was, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior” (Judges 6:12). I love those words. They show me that God has a view of who He is going to make us in His strength and power. That gives me hope. And then, God encouraged Gideon with the truth that absolutely refuted his thinking - the Lord is with you. Basically He was showing with one statement that Gideon had wrongly interpreted the character of God. Gideon resisted, “If the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us?” God counteracted Gideon’s suppositions about the circumstance by saying “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.” And in that moment, Gideon learned a new name for God, Yahweh Shalom. In Gideon I learn today that when I don’t understand God, I need to look to Him for a new view. And maybe, just maybe, He is wanting to show me something new about Who He is, What He does, and What He says. Gideon learned that God is the God of Shalom, peace. And as I wrote in my book Trusting In The Names Of God: The peace of God is like a mighty river flowing deep in the heart, strengthening men and women of God to do great and mighty things in the name of their Lord.
Lord, today I trust in You as my peace. Forgive me when I wrongly interpret You by looking through the lenses of feelings and circumstances instead of the lens of Your Word. Give me strength today to love and serve You with all my heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen.