“Does not the Lord go before you ?”

July 12

Read: Judges 4, focus v.11-23

Barak part 2

“Does not the Lord go before you?”

“And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?…And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword…” (v.14,15)

This is a question that ALL of God’s people must wrestle with and answer: “Does not the Lord go before you?” (v.14) Deborah challenges us with this very truth as much as she did Barak thousands of years ago. No matter what the circumstances - the question is still pertinent! You have a difficult conversation that needs to take place with an employee or co-worker. Does not the Lord go before you? You need to ask for forgiveness from your spouse or your friend. Does not the Lord go before you? You are headed into an interview, about to take a test, or trying something for the first time. Does not the Lord go before you? Jesus is literally called the “trail-blazer” of our faith in Hebrews 12:1… the one who goes before us… runs ahead… the first one in. The default state of the world around us is chaos that God is bringing into order. We will never move into the work that God has for us - never move into the chaos - if we are not convinced of this truth. We see this in Barak. He needed to be told over and over again… reminded of what was true. He needed to be challenged - “Up!” Deborah declares

God is calling you - “Up!” God is stirring you… waking you up. He is telling you to “get up”. God is calling you to nothing less. He is working in you and through you and he wants you to know that he goes before you. This truth is where our confidence rests. Psalm 118:7 says “The LORD is on my side among those who help me.” This does not mean all of life is easy. This does not mean there is no effort. But no matter what the situation is - as the people of God we must approach it in light of this truth: God has already gone ahead of it into it. Our job is asking GOd what he is up to… what he is already doing… where he is already working. There is NO PLACE, CONVERSATION, PROBLEM, or VICTORY we will walk into before God.

Compare Barak to Judah in Judges 1:8-36. ““And the LORD was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron.” Judah was undone by the iron chariots, but for Barak: “So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword.” The iron chariots were no match for Lord. The iron chariots that thwarted Judah were a non-issue for Barak. Why? Because the Lord goes before Barak. There is victory in places that previously held defeat. There is confidence and courage where there once was fear. Barak may have missed the mark in other ways… but he is redeemed here in the battle against Sisera.

What is it that is causing you fear? What is it that is holding you up? What conversation needs to happen that you are avoiding? “Up! Does not the Lord go before you?” This is not only a matter of difficult challenges… it is also a matter of BLESSING. Could you believe that God goes before you to make a way to BLESS you? Our family has seen this so many times on our trip this summer. My wife Olivia - who has the spiritual gift of Faith - has had to remind me (like Deborah) a 1000 times over that “The Lord goes before us.” When things were going wrong, we were having difficulty, or the chaos around us seemed too much… she would boldly declare. Sometimes we had a hard time believing, but she did enough for us. What has been the outcome EVERYTIME? Something BETTER than we ever could have planned for ourselves. Conversations with people about faith, better camping spots than what we planned, beautiful sunsets, laughter, and so much more. The Lord has gone before us each step of the way. When you want to give up… turn back… stay home… Think of the words of Deborah. Imagine the outcome that you long for, and then When the iron chariots show up on the horizon, be like Barak, not Judah! We have more to come from his story. Love you guys. - JDP