Have you ever noticed how success can breed failure? Someone succeeds, becomes a notable figure in society, and instead of using that influence for God, he or she falls deep into sin, walking away from God. We have seen this time and time again, and we see it in the book of Judges. The question is...will we allow this to happen to us? Will we catch ourselves before it is too late?
“The story of Judges is a story of conquest and victory, followed by pride and related sin, followed by defeat, followed by repentance, begging God for help. Then the cycle starts over -- victory, then pride and sin, and so on. It is a never-ending story. Too often, this is the cycle of life for each of us. In our nothingness, we beg God for help. He gives us the victory. At the pinnacle of celebration, we allow personal pride to take over. “I did it!” Pride brings sin and sin brings defeat. In our nothingness, once more we cry out to God -- and he once more delivers us.
The period of the judges was a time of national darkness, the early dark ages of Israel. But stars shone in the dark skies, names that remind us of heroic deeds, names such as Ehud, Gideon, Samson, and Deborah. These were imperfect people like us, people with flaws. But they recognized that God alone could offer deliverance from sin’s consequences. And so they got their personal lives straight with God and then, in most cases, got the rest of the nation to do the same.” (Touch Point Bible)
Many times in our victories and prosperity, we tend to forget God. This may cause us to fall into sin and darkness, creating this cycle of victory to defeat, defeat to victory. While reading the book of Judges, ask yourselves where you are in this cycle. Are you at the top looking down, enjoying your success and forgetting how you got there -- that it was God who made it all possible? Maybe you’re staring defeat in the eyes, calling out to God for help; or maybe you are somewhere in between spiraling up or down.
Wherever you are in this cycle, “the message of Judges is simple: Remember, acknowledge, and honor God, whether in defeat or victory. He will rescue you from defeat. But he expects you to honor him in our hour of victory. That will lead to greater victory, not a regression into another defeat.” (Touch Point Bible)
Lord, thank you for your Word today! Help us to acknowledge and honor you in all things, so that we may avoid that destructive cycle of victory and defeat. We love you!
May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
….AND MAY WE ALL PRACTICE THIS WITH ONE ANOTHER.
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