Blessing in the Battle

July 19

Read: Judges 5

Blessing in the Battle

“My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless the LORD…Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite,of tent-dwelling women most blessed.” (v.9,24)

What does it look like to “offer yourself willingly among the people”? (v. 9) The Lord has always used brave men and women who “offer themselves willingly” for the sake of the people of God. When we look at this passage, we realize that not everyone was willing to go down and fight. Not everyone was CALLED to go down and fight. The question is, are you WILLING? The Church needs men and women willingly to follow the Lord into the fray… into the battle… into the chaos. Not everyone will go, but there is a unique blessing for those who answer the call.

To ignore the call of the Lord is always a loss in some form or another; look at Barak when he stutter steps: “the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” (v.4:9) God is still with Barak. God still loves Barak. God does not begrudge Barak. Yet, the road he was traveling did not lead to his “glory” according to 4:9. Something was lost in that moment of hesitation and fear… in that moment of doubting God and bargaining with the Lord to shirk responsibility / put some of the onus onto Deborah.

The flip-side is true. There is great “blessing” and “glory” in bravely trusting the Lord and doing what he calls you to do. There is blessing in the battle. Battles are not easy… they are a grueling and bloody affair. They zap your energy. They drain your resources. You WILL leave with wounds and scars. Yet, IT IS WORTH IT. God uses the “commanders who offer themselves willingly” to bring blessing to the people. In this case, the people of God find “rest for 40 years” as a result! (v.31)

Are you afraid of the battle? It is only normal. Battles are gnarly. But fullness and blessing from the Lord for yourself and those around you will come on the other side. What is the alternative? You can set yourself up against the Lord, then what? - “So may all your enemies perish, O LORD!” (v.31) To oppose God leads only to “perishing”. To be a “friend of God '' means to “rise” to the occasion and in doing so bring “light” to everyone around you. That is what we see in this final verse: “But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.”(v. 31) God will lift you up in the battle. God will carry you through. There is a great blessing to be had. There is no shortage of battles in this world. There will be some battles that you have no choice whether to take or not… God will bring the battle to you. Remember this in that moment - he is bringing you blessing along with it! And so, “my heart goes out to the men and women of God who offer themselves willingly among the people.” May you find strength in the battle. May you find hope. Do not give up… do not grow weary. As a “friend of God" he will lift you up and give you strength in the same way he does the sun! Love you guys! - JDP