Friday, October 29, 2021

"I count on you !"

“Ah! My Lord, if God is with us, why have all these things happened to us ?" Judges 6.13

If you watch the news bulletins for news from all over the world, if you read the local press to find out what is happening in your area and in your city, you are certainly frightened by the horrors of all kinds that plague the people so much. men than nature. And you've probably wondered, "If God exists... why all this ?" It is the cry from the heart of Gideon, a young man who lived long before the days of the kings of Israel. His country was devastated by the recurrent incursions of the Midianites who pillaged Israel and thus reduced the Jewish people to terrible poverty. One day, Gideon receives an unexpected visit from an envoy of God who greets him with a vibrant : “The Lord is with you, valiant hero !” Where anyone would have been astonished, but honored by such a visit and such a greeting, Gideon proclaims his despair and bitterness : “Oh really ! And God in all of this ? Why these misfortunes ?” Suddenly, the biblical reader hopes for an explanation from the angel, with arguments to understand this absence of God in a world that He nevertheless created ! But no ! The angel does not answer Gideon's why, and indeed, God rarely answers these questions that sound like accusations. The whole book of Job is a long plea as to the why of the suffering, but God does not seek to justify or explain. On the other hand, He will challenge Gideon to urge him to change this so sad story. He propels the young man into a series of battles for the world to change. The lesson from this story - which can be found in many pages of the Bible - is this : Change for a better world is as much willed by God as it is by each of us, and more ; but God wants His children - that is, those who place their trust in Him - to roll up their sleeves and be agents of change. So Gideon hears a decisive encouragement : “Go with the strength you have ; I will be with you !" (Judges 6. 14-16).

Source (His Word for Today)