We have all come to that moment when we are sure, beyond all reasonable doubt, that this is it. The End. There is no where to go form here and nothing is going to “magically” appear and rescue us from the depths we have found ourselves in.
Solomon called it, “vanity of vanities” when he said in Ecclesiastes 1:3-10 TPT What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content. History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually, it is old; nothing is ever truly new.
I often wonder if that is what drove Gideon to the wine press to thresh his wheat. Sure, Gideon was hiding the harvest from his enemies, however is it possible he also was having similar thoughts to Solomon? Vanity of vanities, life is just a never-ending circle of despair with no door out.
Amid Gideon’s despair for life itself God shows up on the scene to remind him who he is, on the inside, the real Gideon. “The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior!” Like Gideon, he has not forgotten us, even when we are hiding, and is aware of the circumstances we have found ourselves in.
The Lord’s words to Gideon are unusual, “Go in this your strength”. These are not words used to impart something new into us. Rather they point to a force which has been there all along, a force that needed to rise back up to the surface after years of being suppressed and unused.
Knowing, that you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt who you are in Christ Jesus, and the force we possess through Him is essential for victory, especially in the last season of mankind we find ourselves in. If suppressed like Gideon, we find ourselves back in Ecclesiastes with Solomon, in a vicious circle of meaningless life.
Throughout my long life on this planet we have had several dogs, none like Sheba. A physically deformed black chow who against all odds lived the most amazing life as my friend. For 13 years she fought the lion, (her sister Lu Lu), and the bear, (other adopted in sister Harlequin), not to mention raccoons, skunks, muskrats and any other varmint she found herself chasing. The dog loved to hunt, edged on by my Grizzly Adams man, of course. Never did a month go by where her and the sisters were out of agreement about any little thing resulting in a full-blown dog fight. Sometimes it was all three at once. Oh my.
Sheba was born with deformed hind legs, which turned in almost to the point where the knee joint touched, giving her the appearance of a ballerina dancer on the stage as she walked, maybe glided, along. This combined with hip dysplasia, she would at times be in such pain that only thing which would relieve her was laying in the water at the beach, or in a 3-foot snowbank in the dead of winter. Sheba never would miss the opportunity to jump up and glide up to me for some loving, no matter how much pain she was in. Loved that dog.
When Sheba was 9 months old her eyes started to blue over, so we made an appointment with a specialist hoping to save her eyesight. As we sat in the lobby, my little ball of black fur sat at my feet, watching as animals of ever sort were coming and going. She never moved an inch. We had sat there maybe 15 minutes when a young man came in with his dog. Later we learned he was there by police order to determine if the dog was a danger to society. Seems the pizza delivery guy knocked on the door and the dog literally took it off its hinges in one swoop, landing the door on the pizza guy, good thing, better the door than the dog on top him.
This dog, let’s call him Brute, since his name never was mentioned, came in with his master on a log chain and spiked collar. It took the kid both hands just to maneuver both the chain and Brute to the front desk to check in. As soon as they entered the door and stepped in Sheba jumped to her feet in a protective stance in front of me.
Seriously, Brute had to of been 150 pounds of solid muscle, on a log chain, all scared up from fighting, and there for a possible death sentence and my little 22-pound ball of fur puppy is going to protect me? However, Sheba had not taken inventory of all this for if she had it would go like this; 9 months old, deformed, barely seeing, less than 25 pounds, but she never counted her costs in case of battle, all she knew was D A N G E R, protect mama, and let me at him.
As Brute walked by the young man had to tighten his hold on him because my baby girl was snarling and very clearly saying, “buddy – you don’t know who I am or who I am representing – so don’t mess with us.”
1 John 4:4 says, “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” What is your inner vision? One of strength, or is it depths of despair due to life’s batting ram? Let’s talk about it. Comment below, we always answer, or email us here. We would love to speak life into you.
