The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior . . . Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you? Judges 6:12, 14

God’s perspective is different from our perspective. When God sent an angel to call Gideon to save Israel from oppression, Gideon saw only his own weakness. Like Gideon, we often see ourselves through our limited viewpoint. Instead, we should look into the mirror of the Word to see ourselves as God sees us.

Gideon responded the way we are often tempted to respond when in the midst of a protracted battle. “If the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about . . . But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian” (Judges 6:13). Gideon was basing everything on what he saw in the moment, while God’s amazing overriding perspective called Gideon to faith. God downloaded the deliverance of Israel to a man who, in the natural, did not look like a worthy candidate. That means there’s hope for all of us!

“Remember, God didn’t give us His Word so we could gather enough info to become theologians. He gave us His Word so we could undergo transformation and to overcome anything we face in this world with our faith.” Pastor Bill Anzevino

Even when our misery is self-inflicted, we can call on the Lord. His mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13). “Fools, because of their rebellious way, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted . . . Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions” (Psalm 107:17-20).

God can take a thimbleful of faith and stretch it as far as the universe. Even when we don’t have everything figured out, we have this figured out: God is faithful! He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). So take courage in Jesus’ words, which ring true through time: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b).

God is faithful!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2010 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful. James 5:11

When we observe the outcome of Job’s life, we see his endurance and we see the faithfulness of God: “The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold” (Job 42:10).

Longsuffering is the King James word for “endurance,” and it’s a good description of what we need when we’re being long-bothered (Galatians 5:22). Longsuffering doesn’t mean that we have to crawl through life in defeat, but as we encounter the inevitable challenges of life we are to consider the value of endurance and be confident that the outcome of the Lord’s dealings will be breakthrough! Look at these words about Jesus:

When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him [Jesus] until an opportune time. Luke 4:13

Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him. Matthew 4:11

These verses show that every temptation and trial the devil throws at you has a beginning, middle, and end. If you don’t understand this when you march into a battle you’ll cave in, thinking you’ve been defeated. Don’t quit! God knows how to take bad situations and turn them around. “Then Job answered the Lord and said, ‘I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted’” (Job 42:1-2).

If you’re in the middle of a battle, don’t grow weary and become lethargic and vegetate on TV and ice cream. Strengthen yourself in the Lord (1 Samuel 30:6). Sometimes this is easier than other times, but God has called us to flat out do it. The world needs Christians who will stand up, have some backbone, and press on! Good things are ahead.

Persevere,

Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2009 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.