God's toughest battle is often me!!!

The woman of the week is Deborah, a wise, compassionate judge that helped Israel out of of a desperate period with the guidance of God. The Israelites were apparently a very stubborn people! With all that God did for them, all the miracles he revealed to them sometimes on a daily basis, they continued to turn their backs on him. When things were going well they began to worship other Gods and do there own thing. They continued this cycle for years! They would cry out to God in difficult times and he would deliver them once again only to watch them turn away from him, time and time again. We look at this and wonder how can one nation be SOOOOO stupid and stubborn.....yet we live our lives much the same way. When things are going so well in our lives we often forget about God and instead worship our cars, our jobs, our homes, our sports, or our money. But let a huge adversity come into our lives, first we play the blame game, then the control game and try to fix it ourselves and then, when ALL else fails, we cry out to God!! In the days before Deborah, Israel had once again turned away from God. In the midst of these days they were completely controlled by the Canaanites and the area they lived in was dangerous. They were a truly defenseless nation in the midst of a dangerous land. It was a desperate time for them and once again they cried out to God to save them. God used a faithful, compassionate woman by the name of Deborah. She was a Prophet and Judge in Israel. She loved and advised the people of Israel prior to this time and when the Israelites called out to God for help, he used Deborah to save the nation from the desperate times they were in. With the faith that Deborah and Barak, the leader of the army had, and God's continual mercy and love, the Canaanite army was quickly defeated. Peace was once again restored to the nation of Israel. This is the way God works in our lives as well. When our adversities are absolutely out of our control and all seems hopeless, this is when his strength is made perfect. What is evident in this story is that God used a woman, not a mighty warrior, but a woman to show what he can do even in the most difficult and desperate of times. What a woman of faith! Even against unsurmountable odds, Deborah believed in God's instruction and told Barack what he must do. Barack also was a man of faith, because he knew that if Deborah was there and God spoke through her, all would be OK, regardless of the odds. God's toughest battle was not against the Canaanites or other nations that dominated the nation of Israel. His toughest battle was with the stubborn nation of Israel who time after time wandered away from him. When are we, like Israel, ever going to learn that a lasting peace, can only be found in God!?? One of the messages of the book of Judges is this....." VICTORY is not found when I overcome sin, or the devil, or the world. True, LASTING Victory is found ONLY when I AM OVERCOME by God!" It is obvious the Israelites did not seem to hold onto that LASTING victory. How well are we doing with it?? Have we truly ever allowed God to OVERCOME us? Do we have a faith and belief like Deborah and Barak? Do we believe in a mighty God that can use us as he did them? Would we have taken on an army of Canaanites without one single weapon? Do we truly believe God can work through us to do ANYTHING????? Food for thought this week! :)