Patience and Pride both begin with “P” but lead in different directions!

Scripture Read: Judges Chapter 6:6-10 So Israel was brought very low because of Midian, and the sons of Israel cried to the Lord. Now it came about when the sons of Israel cried to the LORD on account of Midian, that the LORD sent a prophet to the sons of Israel, and he said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘It was I who brought you up from Egypt and brought you out from the house of slavery. ‘I delivered you from the hands of the Egyptians and from the hands of all your oppressors, and dispossessed them before you and gave you their land, and I said to you, “I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. But you have not obeyed Me.” ’ ”

Application: Several issues we should consider in this passage. First, the incredible inexhaustible patience of our Lord! How many of us would love someone, be ignored, then when that person is in trouble, that is when they call out to us, and we come to their rescue? Not just one time, but time and time again!  When would we, not say, but yell, NO! "You made your bed, you sleep in it!” Even the best of us would finally draw a line and move on, leaving that person to reap completely what they have sown. God did allow Israel to reap the consequences of her sin for a time, but when she finally humbled herself and called out for help, God extended grace and mercy. This is a lesson we had better get, because even though we do not like to admit it, we are the same as the Israelites, sinners by nature. Don't ever allow pride to keep you reaping from your sin. Go to God and cry out for His mercy, many times He will deliver you and restore you.  The second issue is the word "fear". Yes it does mean tremble, but it also means respect and revere, which is the issue here. The Israelites knew that a statue could not hurt them, for they knew the difference between a living God and a dead idol. 

The problem is they did not want the accountability that comes when worshipping a living God, so they would ignore Him and give their respect and reverence to a false dead idol. They deceived themselves into believing that they could keep control of their life that way without the interference of a living God, but as it always does, the freedom is only the “hook” the flesh uses, and very quickly it turns into bondage to sin and the idol you chose to serve you, is now your master. We need to examine our life regularly and make sure we only give our respect and reverence to the one God, not some idol we have allowed into our life!  Be careful not to deceive yourself – our idols today are usually not statues or things made out of rocks or wood. Some still have idols like that, but most children of God know those things are nothing. The problem is that we still have idols… whether it be a financial god, a sexual god, a title or recognition god, even a “testimony” god. Anything other than the real God that becomes the driving force in our life is an idol! Most of our idols tend to be invisible and are known only to us. That makes this kind of idolatry exceptionally dangerous! Holy Spirit help us examine our heart with You on a daily basis.

Meditation Questions: Do you see God’s patience toward you? What does your answer show you? Do you realize how patient God is with you? What should that make you want to do? Have you ever been in the middle of discipline from the Lord, desired His help, but refused to ask for it? Why? What does that show you? The next time God is disciplining you for a sin, what will you do? What does your answer show you?