In life it is usually hard to play catch-up.
In spiritual life it is often harder.
Mind you, you were divinely wired to be the head, not the tail; to be above, not beneath (Deut. 28:13); to be a king and priest to God (Rev. 1:6); to be “a light” to the world, God’s “salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isa. 49:6).1 But somehow along the journey you have lost your way, and now you cannot make head or tails out of it. Disenchanted, you just manage to go on survival mode. You wake, you work, you eat, you sleep. And so forth and so on, until the day you die.
The man in the winepress, however, is not planning to die anytime soon. It is true: he is alone. He should be surrounded by revelers, but he is alone. Also true: the man is afraid. It was not supposed to be this way. He should be dancing and singing his heart out, giving thanks, and offerings, and praise. But he is hiding. He is in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The apprehensive man, however, is proactive. He knows you do not play catch-up by playing dead or running away. He is Gideon, the “powerful warrior,” as his name proclaims. He is threshing “wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it” from his enemies (Judges 6:11). Gideon is strong and hardworking, and believes that he can change circumstances. He can take bulls by the horns. He is acquainted with the latest fad of self-help maxims. “The greatest asset you have is you,” he often hears. “You need to access the higher levels of your human genius.” “Just look inside: The answer is in you!” By now, these statements are deeply engrained in his psyche. The powerful warrior is positive that this time he will outsmart his enemies. Since God seems so silent, it is time for him to step up and find his true destiny.
Or so he thinks.
Spiritual catching up, however, is difficult. When you wander away for too long, your vision becomes blurred. Your ears hear noises, not the distinct words of the Word. Your senses become numb. Finally, you end up entangled in a maze of your own making. You get confused. You mix causes with effects, your wishful thinking with the cold naked truth. “Why then has all this happened to us? . . . Now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites,” Gideon exclaims (verse 13). It is Your fault, God! You are not fair! You are not trustworthy! You promise, but do not deliver!
No, it is not a joke. The Lord of the universe believes in him!
Ironically, a message right from the deceptive forge of the adversary.
In Israel the annual festivities were supposed to be a time of rejoicing. The feast of the firstfruits (Lev. 23:9-14) commanded every family to present a sheaf of the firstfruits before the priest as an offering to God. It was a joyous occasion, a moment of remembering the Lord’s faithfulness and provision. But it is hard to give God your firstfruits when you have forgotten the last time you gave Him any fruit at all. It is hard to remember God’s provision when you have allowed competing loyalties to creep in during your daily worship (Judges 6:25). And it is hard even to remember there is a sanctuary to travel to when you are forced to hide in “the dens, the caves, and the strongholds” of the mountains (verse 2).
Gideon, his family, and his people have failed miserably. They are far from God’s ideal. Like King Belshazzar centuries later, they have been “weighed in the balances, and found wanting” (Dan. 5:27). Their sin is more abject, however, because their light has been greater.
Had it been my task to retort to Gideon’s blame game, I know very well what I would have said. It was the perfect time to rub it in! “It is your fault, Gideon. You unrepentant, blind apostate! You brought it all upon yourself! God is not to be mocked, ‘for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap’ [Gal. 6:7]. This is nothing more than a taste of your own medicine!”
Our amazing God, however, does not get entangled in petty arguments. God’s job is not winning arguments, proving Himself right; He is in the business of helping us develop our faith. He is not the Great Debater, but our Great Savior. And where others see just a lost cause, His perfect vision sees infinite potential.
“Threshing wheat by yourself, out of place and out of season?” God seems to be telling Gideon. “Is this your idea of fulfillment? I have bigger dreams for you, bigger than you can imagine.” In fact, God adds, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” (Judges 6:14).
Gideon looks up in disbelief. No, it is not a joke. The Lord of the universe believes in him! He believes the obscure runaway young man has what it takes! And the Lord has plans “to give [him] a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:11). He just needs Gideon’s faltering acquiescence.
Suddenly a deep longing is rekindled is Gideon’s heart. After countless days of estrangement, he finds out he is back on talking terms with the Lord Himself. Oblivious to the half-threshed wheat and the tumbledown winepress, to his apostate comrades and the roaming Midianites, he lets himself fall into the mighty arms of the Holy One. The self-help chitchat that had driven him so far now becomes blurry as he realizes his wretched helplessness (Judges 6:15). Still in doubt, however, Gideon is not fully discouraged as he apprehends he is before the One who is able to carry him through.
Gideon becomes proactive once more. But this time he is following not his heart but his Creator. In awe he makes haste to prepare some food for the Lord Himself (verse 19). His life makes sense again; he has found a mission, something to look forward to. He is not sure how he will accomplish it, but somehow he anticipates that through the Lord’s power, he will.
“The secret of success,” wrote Ellen G. White, ”is the union of divine power with human effort.”2 Simple, but life-changing. As they say, you do your best, and leave God the rest. Reflecting specifically on Gideon’s rendezvous with his God-given mission, she adds, “The Lord can work most effectually through those who are most sensible of their own insufficiency, and who will rely upon Him as their leader and source of strength. He will make them strong by uniting their weakness to His might, and wise by connecting their ignorance with His wisdom.”3
Yes, spiritual catching up is hard. But it becomes much easier when the Lord of the universe not only waits for us to do it, but, as promised, walks by our side all the way, until the end of time (Matt. 28:20).
