Relationship = Time

“Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?  And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about?  Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’?  But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.” [Judges 6.13]

How many times have these words (and variations thereof) been spoken, declared, or prayed to God?

It would be easy to ask, "Where ARE all the miracles today the Bible talks about?"

As in Gideon's time, so today, God is moving and working all the time.  However, as individuals, we often align ourselves in such a way that we cannot see God's handiwork.  It doesn't now, nor did it then make it God's shortcoming that His people fail to witness His glory.

As in Gideon's day, we today find so many distractions - other things to embrace - that prevent us from fellowshipping with God.  We may not recognize our "things" as "idols" but if they take us away from God instead of to God then they are, for all God's assessment, idols.

I found it interesting that Gideon left the Angel of the Lord to go prepare a goat as a sacrifice.  This was no quick thing to do.  Although Gideon 'hurried' back home to do so, the preparation and cooking was something that could not be done in a short amount of time.  Just slaughtering and butchering the goat would take a fair amount of time, let alone preparing a fire.  Oh, and then there is the matter of taking flour and baking bread - a task also requiring time.

What strikes me as important here is that Gideon took the time to do these things.  Perhaps it was in taking the time that Gideon actually experienced the Lord in a real relationship.  Perhaps Gideon's willingness to take the time is what made him worthy to accomplish the task God would then ask him to do.

Father, I want to take the necessary time and steps to be in right relationship with You.  However, I realize my words here are meaningless if they are not followed through with action.  Furthermore I realize that my eyes may not see Your mighty acts until I give them fully to see Your mighty acts...