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HE LEFT THEM THERE
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I promised that more would be coming, so here it is:
While preparing for the Guys Group that meets on Monday Nights in theBURN, I read a passage out of Judges that I want to share with you. Check it out:
Judges 3:1-4
1 Now these are the nations which the LORD left, that He might test Israel by them, that is, all who had not known any of the wars in Canaan...4 And they were left, that He might test Israel by them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of the LORD, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
As I was reading it, it hit me. He left them there (and by he, I mean big He [you can look upwards if you like]). The LORD let these other nations be. In the middle of the land of promise, He let them be. They weren't eliminated. They weren't offed. He let them be. And it wasn't so they could roam around and be jerks. It wasn't so that they would creep into the camps and have their way. The SOLE purpose for these nations being left in Israel was so that God would see whether or not Israel would obey the LORD and keep His commandments. To see if they would honor Him. To see if those who did not know war would trust Him.
How many times do we think/pray that God would remove things from our life? That He would take away this or take away that, when it actuality He may leave it in the land to see if we will obey. I was captivated in Evan Almighty when Morgan Freeman (who plays the character of God makes this statement):
"When we pray for patience, does God give us patience, or the opportunity to be patient?...When we pray for courage, does God give us courage, or the opportunity to be courageous?...When we pray to become more of a family, does God make us more of a family, or does he give us the opportunity to be more of a family?"
I think sometimes we get the idea that God is just going to take it all away or that He will make us all better. That when we pray, God immediately remedies us of all the things that woe us or the things that we can't seem to do. In actuality, He could be leaving some things in the land to see if we are going to choose Him or if we are going to obey His commandments or begin to do somethings He is asking us to do. Rob Bell said in a recent Nooma video, "don't pray for God to feed the hungry if you have plenty of food." The idea was that we could be the answer to some of the prayers we are praying and God is just ordering the steps. Be encouraged! There may be some Hivites and Canaanites in the land, but He is still there. Obey Him and honor Him and it will all begin to come together and it will all begin to make sense (hopefully this does).
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Now playing: Greg Laswell - What A Day
While preparing for the Guys Group that meets on Monday Nights in theBURN, I read a passage out of Judges that I want to share with you. Check it out:
Judges 3:1-4
1 Now these are the nations which the LORD left, that He might test Israel by them, that is, all who had not known any of the wars in Canaan...4 And they were left, that He might test Israel by them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of the LORD, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
As I was reading it, it hit me. He left them there (and by he, I mean big He [you can look upwards if you like]). The LORD let these other nations be. In the middle of the land of promise, He let them be. They weren't eliminated. They weren't offed. He let them be. And it wasn't so they could roam around and be jerks. It wasn't so that they would creep into the camps and have their way. The SOLE purpose for these nations being left in Israel was so that God would see whether or not Israel would obey the LORD and keep His commandments. To see if they would honor Him. To see if those who did not know war would trust Him.
How many times do we think/pray that God would remove things from our life? That He would take away this or take away that, when it actuality He may leave it in the land to see if we will obey. I was captivated in Evan Almighty when Morgan Freeman (who plays the character of God makes this statement):
"When we pray for patience, does God give us patience, or the opportunity to be patient?...When we pray for courage, does God give us courage, or the opportunity to be courageous?...When we pray to become more of a family, does God make us more of a family, or does he give us the opportunity to be more of a family?"
I think sometimes we get the idea that God is just going to take it all away or that He will make us all better. That when we pray, God immediately remedies us of all the things that woe us or the things that we can't seem to do. In actuality, He could be leaving some things in the land to see if we are going to choose Him or if we are going to obey His commandments or begin to do somethings He is asking us to do. Rob Bell said in a recent Nooma video, "don't pray for God to feed the hungry if you have plenty of food." The idea was that we could be the answer to some of the prayers we are praying and God is just ordering the steps. Be encouraged! There may be some Hivites and Canaanites in the land, but He is still there. Obey Him and honor Him and it will all begin to come together and it will all begin to make sense (hopefully this does).
----------------
Now playing: Greg Laswell - What A Day
