In the middle of all the turmoil we’re in, our nation needs prayer. This week there has been racial hatred, two African American men killed by police, protests in major cities across the country, and five officers killed in a sniper shooting. It’s enough to make you bar the door, draw the blinds, and hide!
In Judges chapter six we find Gideon threshing wheat by hand down inside a winepress. He should have been up on a hilltop where oxen would drag a sledge over the grain and the wind could blow the chaff away. I’m pretty sure the winepress I visited in Nazareth wasn’t the same one Gideon was in three thousand years ago, but it probably had about the same view. In Biblical times, grapes were thrown into a sunken area, sometimes carved into rock, where they were stepped on with bare feet and the juice was collected to make wine. By design it was deep and tightly enclosed – not much to see. Gideon was hiding – afraid, defeated, discouraged, and even a bit resentful of God. He said, “…the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” Not exactly the attitude you’d hope to find in a leader.
And yet, Gideon would become a great leader and free his people from the oppression of the Midianites. He even got named in the “Hall of Fame of Faith” in Hebrews as one whose trust in God brought glory to the Lord.
What is God’s vision for your life and family and impact on the world? Are you actively looking for it, or do you have your head in a hole in the ground? Maybe you’ve been looking for it, but have had a hard time finding it!
This Sunday we’ll look at the seven steps God took Gideon through to find vision in the midst of a hostile and even dangerous environment. I’m also excited to share with you how God is using a very similar process to lead the Valley Church elders in discovering God’s vision for Valley Church together! Let’s seek Him together with confidence and courage. Together we can be a voice of hope, peace, and reconciliation this weekend in the midst of so much fear and anger. I’m praying God will give us all wisdom and courage in these times.
I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1,2
Looking unto Christ,
Kurt