Left To Test!

Passage Reading: Judges 1-3:4

I love this passage! It was hard to narrow down a main point because I saw so many similarities to the present time. I am not going to include the whole passage. My hope is that you might open your bible to the passage and see what God will say to you. I will focus on some of the verses that spoke to me personally.

To set up the reading, Joshua, the prophet, died. In Judges 2:7 it says, The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.

This is what follows that verse in Judges 2:10-11, After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what He had done for Israel (somewhere the parents stopped telling their children about what God did). Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals (the god of pleasure).

It states that their actions provoked the Lord to anger. In verses 2:14-15 it says, In His anger against Israel the Lord handed them over to raiders who plundered them. He sold them to their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them, just as He had sworn to them. They were in great distress.

Then, the Lord raised up judges for the Israelites to save them from the raiders. However, they still were disobedient. They still worshiped other gods. They were quick to turn from the ways their fathers walked...in obedience to the Lord. The Lord did have compassion on them. However, ultimately they refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.

The following verses struck a nerve. In 2:20-3:2; 3:4 it says, Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant that I laid down for their forefathers and has not listened to me, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their forefathers did. The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; He did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua. These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (He did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience). They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord's commands, which He had given their forefathers through Moses.

I could say so much about the current state of our nation and this current generation. However, I want to direct more of the focus on personal application. How was I challenged in a way that will have an impact on the legacy I leave behind which hopefully will have an impact on the next generation?!

Through my challenges, there has been an occasional prayer that I would offer up to the Lord. “Lord, can you just remove this challenging relationship from my life permanently?” (not wishing any harm but for this relationship to be removed) But, God said no. But WHY, Lord? The answer came to me out of so many passages, but this passage I love!

He left this challenge in my life to test me. I could complain, but I know the blessings and protection that come from obedience to His Word...I have experienced it first hand. So, I pray that God would allow His love, forgiveness, grace and mercy to fill me in such a way that it overflows onto others. Am I always successful? No! This challenge also reminds me of my own sinful nature. It keeps me humble and always crying out to the Lord for help.

There are two other words that speak loudly to my heart in 3:2, He did this only to teach warfare! In order to survive some of the challenges that I have encountered, I have had to engage in spiritual warfare. What does this look like? Well, the enemy plants thoughts in my mind and wants me to respond one way and the Holy Spirit within me reminds me of what God's Word says about how to respond. I can listen to the voice of the enemy or...I can treasure and ponder on what God's Word says to do and refuse to listen to that other voice! The spiritual battle that God's children will have to deal with comes in many different forms. So, as I choose to stay committed, only through the power of the Holy Spirit within me and God's grace covering me, to endure these tests with a surrendered and obedient heart.

Father, I pray that this challenge in my life would be used by Your Hand to test me in order that I might be used for the advancement of the gospel of Christ. I pray that this challenge would also train me for the battles that await me in the future. Father, I pray that Your Spirit that dwells within me would have full sway in my life. I pray I would respond to life's challenges in accordance to Your Word in order that Your Will would be accomplished in my life!

For the Glory of my Lord!