Judges 2:1-5 – “Then the angel of Yahweh came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, ² and as for you, you shall cut no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not listened to My voice; what is this you have done? ³ Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they will become as thorns in your sides, and their gods will become a snare to you.’” ⁴ So it happened that when the angel of Yahweh spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. ⁵ So they named that place Bochim; and there they sacrificed to Yahweh.”

Like nature’s weather, life has stormy seasons, but God is greater than any storm.   He loves us so much that He allows the storms to test and even seemingly defeat us as He draws us back to Himself. He wants us to trust Him.  No matter the storm, I am praying for a hedge of protection over each of you.

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word, the Spirit of God gripped, convicted, and challenged me.  God gave specific instructions when Israel went into Canaan, the Promised Land. Drive them ALL out!   They didn’t, as we were reminded of in Judges 1.

In Judges 2:1-5, the Angel of the Lord came to them after they had neglected to follow God’s orders explicitly and reminded them of God’s orders and covenant. He said, “But you did not listen (obey) to My voice. What is this you have done?”   Then he informed them that those people allowed to remain would be thorns in their sides AND (this is big) their gods would be a snare to them.

They and we suffer when we fail to follow God’s instructions explicitly. God will do in our lives what He did in theirs, in Judges 3:1-2.  “Now these are the nations that Adonai left to test all Israel who had not experienced any of the wars of Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of Bnei-Yisrael might learn from war, which they had not experienced before.”

War forces one to learn strategy, unity, and dependence.   Judges 2:6-11 reveals that Israel worshipped and served God as long as Joshua and those with first-hand experience lived.   Second-hand revelation never produces life or victory, only theory and religiosity.   God allows storms not to harm us but to help us so we can learn the devil’s schemes, develop strategy, unify, and become dependent.

Therefore, rather than cursing your difficulties, look beyond them to God and extract the strength to overcome them from them!   Remember, you don’t have any problems; you only have opportunities to trust God and see Him in His fullness! How we view life defines how we live life!

Rejoice and seize the day; it is the Day the Lord has made, and remember, Sunday is coming!