The Israelites have been hounded and pursued by the Midianites and Amalekites. This has happened, we are told, because the Israelites did what was evil in God’s sight. I still maintain this isn’t the God Jesus describes and knows, but I digress.
An angel of the Lord appears before Gideon and tells him, ‘the Lord is with you’. Gideon is rightly confused with the paradox created by an angel of the Lord, in the midst of all of their anguish. Gideon asks why all of this has happened to them, if the Lord was with them. The banter goes on, with the angel commissioning Gideon to rise up and take on the Midianites and Gideon protesting. There is no clear answer as to why all of this has happened to the Israelites if God is with the answer. Sitting here, thousands of years later, with a pandemic killing thousands and racial tension in the US, and other illnesses present, I was hoping for a nice, tidy answer. Nope.
But if there was a tidy answer, I probably could find fault with it, or it wouldn’t precisely fit my understanding of today’s challenges, so it’s probably better that the answer comes in snippets, that force me to think and pray about it, in my context.
Instead of answering Gideon, the angel gives Gideon a charge and says, I commission you. I love this part, because I believe that we each are commissioned by God to do something. Not to be mistaken with self-determined or self-directed actions. But when we are commissioned or called by God to do something, we already have the power to make it happen, however unlikely. It requires prayer and discernment to hear God’s call and it’s not always as clear as a bell. But when it’s of God, it just feels right. As my current boss said, “if it is of God, it will work out”.
Gideon asks for a sign, to be sure this messenger angel is legit, and he’s given a sign of an altar spontaneously combusting. He’s afraid, and God answers with what we hear throughout the Gospels from Jesus, “Peace be with you. Do not Fear”
What I take from all of this is that God commissions us for specific work or a task, or an action, or a career – and these can definitely change. If we ask for a sign, we might get one that’s frightening, so be careful what you ask for. And regardless, we need to remember that we are given God’s peace. And we are not to fear. God is with us.
Back to today. In the world, we’ve got this pandemic raging, and justified racial unrest. The economic impacts of the pandemic are just beginning to be felt, and will likely be a burden for a decade. How can God be with us, if all of this bad stuff happens? Like with Gideon, we are not likely to get a simple tidy answer. But also from Gideon’s story, we get clues. We are all commissioned to do something. Some work in hospitals, some take care of their family, others take care of the hungry. If it is of God, you know it is right. We are commissioned by God to do our little bits. And we are to do it with peace, and without fear. God is absolutely with us in our commissioned work.
In my home world, my sick loved one has determined that the medicine they were on was making them feel sick, and also again believes they are not sick after all, a classic symptom of one diagnosis they’ve received. For more information on this fascinating symptom, please see the wonderful Ted Talk from author, Xavier Amador, “I’m not sick, I don’t need help”. My husband and I had suspected that the medicine was not being taken, as behaviors started to change. This is not our first rodeo, as our loved one has been hospitalized five times in 2020, and we have been able to watch the progression or maybe regression, with pretty accurate predictions about what’s next.
A new factor in this round is their self-published autobiography, thanks to Amazon self-publishing. Our loved one has promoted this book, and told us about it, so being supportive parents, we looked it up, and sure enough, there’s a book on Amazon, published by Bublesz Doubt, called Jessie. It is eight pages long and costs $10. It’s fascinating, foul mouthed, scattered, and unfortunately includes several accusations that are painful to read, and even more painful when we realize that this is what our loved one believes.
In my experience, their health trajectory will not turn around until forced intervention. It’s like a slow motion accident, that you must watch but cannot affect.
If the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?
This morning, I’m thinking about what it is I’m commissioned to do, in my house, in my community, and in my world. In big and little ways, we are all commissioned to do big and little things. We are to do them with peace. And we are not to fear. I genuinely believe that. And by spending some time thinking about Gideon, I can feel that peace too.
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