Did God do that…or did I? The answer is…Yes!

Scripture Read: Judges 4:10-16 Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh, and ten thousand men went up with him; Deborah also went up with him. Now Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, from the sons of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. Then they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. Sisera called together all his chariots, nine hundred iron chariots, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. Deborah said to Barak, “Arise! For this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hands; behold, the Lord has gone out before you.” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. The Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot. But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not even one was left.

Application: Here we see the delicate balance of God’s Sovereignty and our participation in the outcomes of our life. God has led Deborah to share with Barak that the Lord will use him to deliver Israel from their enemies. Whenever God guides us in the direction of our life, there is much more to it than just some sort of message delivered and then God leaves us to it. Yet, it also is not like a chess game where God just moves us around the board wherever He desires and we have no say in the matter. Both of those philosophies are from the mind of man in an effort to bring a methodology to how God works so we can get Him into our box of understanding. However, scripture does not allow that if we are lovers of truth. God cannot and will not be confined to the finite mind of man. There are examples in scripture where God left no choice open and made His complete desire happen exactly the way He had determined it to be. There are also examples where God is not even seen openly in the outworking of circumstances. These are the extreme examples, yet those that must place God into a box gravitate to one of the two and try to use the example as their “proof text”. The scriptures are very contrary to this. God does what He wants, the way He wants, anytime He wants. A great majority of the time God works in concert with those that are His children. Where His hand and their hand separate in the outcome of something is only known by Him, not even the individual involved can know where their participation ended and God’s began. 

This passage is a great example of that. Barak obviously is involved in the fighting, yet scripture describes it as what God is doing. As we seek direction from the Lord some important truths in this passage can help us. First, keep moving while you are waiting on the Lord. Not jumping or running, but prayerfully moving in the direction God guided you to. Barak moved his armies as he waited on God to tell him when the battle would begin. Waiting on God’s timing does not mean that we sit down and do nothing, God’s timing is very important, but we should continue to move to where God is guiding us, for it is then He decides He will “give into our hand” what He intends. Second, understand if it is God’s call He goes before you, so you need to be confident in Him, not yourself or your plans. Thirdly, when the victory is yours keep the proper perspective on Who really was involved. We have a tendency to forget Who guided us to the victory sometimes. The plan we were following turns out perfect and if we are not careful we can believe we were the ones that made it happen. Barak knew it was “the Lord that routed” the enemy. Yes, Barak was actively a part of that, but God was working behind the scenes the entire time!

Meditation Questions: Do you believe that God is sovereign? Do you believe you have free choice? How do you balance the two together? When it comes to accomplishing something that you believe God has led you to do, what is your responsibility? What do you believe is God's responsibility? Think about the last time you had a complete victory in something that you were trying to accomplish in the Lord, how good do you feel about that? How much credit did you give yourself? How much credit did you give God? Is there a difference between taking credit for something, and taking glory for something? What do you think God wants you to feel about victories in your life?