{"id":1366,"date":"2014-05-10T18:17:44","date_gmt":"2014-05-10T18:17:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/?p=1366"},"modified":"2014-05-10T18:17:44","modified_gmt":"2014-05-10T18:17:44","slug":"of-faith-and-fleece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/?p=1366","title":{"rendered":"Of Faith and Fleece"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this world of so many things gone wrong that we cannot fix, uncertain outcomes, unpredictable circumstances, sometimes all you want is assurances to hang onto. Super-powers would be nice, but I would settle for a burning bush, or fiery chariots, or a shepherd’s\u00a0rod that can turn into a snake. In our small group we sometimes joke about how neon signs would be helpful\u00a0when we go\u00a0looking for direction and assurance, but the joking is just a cover-up for a little bit of frustration\u00a0and a very real fear that we might get left on our own. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I think how I might cheerfully throw myself at new under-takings, could bravely face the unknown, if I only had a fleece like Gideon did, letting\u00a0me know for sure that God’s\u00a0power was overshadowing me and everything would turn out well.\u00a0But then I realize how crazy that sounds,\u00a0because I have seen a fleece\u00a0in real life: a shaggy, raggedy thing of indeterminate color, and smelling to high heaven when wet.\u00a0Gideon’s confidence-booster was not very impressive when you take a good look at\u00a0it– no more significant than any of the things I might hang onto as divine signposts, and isn’t it funny how seriously we wish\u00a0for them to help us out? Especially when\u00a0Jesus says to Gideon and to us, “I will be with you….I will stay…” (Judges 6:16,18)\u00a0<\/em>Shouldn’t\u00a0the promise of the Almighty be\u00a0sufficient?<\/p>\n

When I really think about it, what made the fleece significant was the concrete evidence of God living and active, reaching down into the gritty everyday details of a farmer’s\u00a0life. Because that is what Gideon needed to know most of all– that he was not alone and that there was a God who could work in the many situations Gideon could not control….things like where the dew fell… and who lived and died…and the future of his family. Isn’t that what we all need to know, when it comes right down to it? No wonder we are so keen about that smelly bit of wool.<\/p>\n

God was very patient with Gideon’s need to see with his own eyes, touch the wet wool with his own fingers, smell the evidence of divine power\u00a0with his own nose. But then, Gideon was just meeting the Almighty for the first time, had nothing but old stories handed down through\u00a0generations to inform his faith. And I hold the God-breathed record in my hands, the revelation of who God Is, the inked words of\u00a0the Word coming in flesh, and I feel\u00a0ashamed. Why do I sometimes think it would be\u00a0easier to understand\u00a0a piece of wool or wood or weather for answers\u00a0(just because I can touch them and see them) rather than God Himself? If I cannot put my trust in God’s assurances, cannot trust the Spirit\u00a0who has made His habitation with me, isn’t looking elsewhere just a fancy word for idolatry?\u00a0And why would I expect God to\u00a0indulge my desire for control, even if it is only\u00a0an illusion after all? Granted, there is a learning curve in following the Spirit’s leading, and God is still very patient\u00a0(and we do have to\u00a0be ever wary of our tendency toward deception), but sometimes I just need to step out and act on what He has already said, and trust Him for the outcome.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, when\u00a0Gideon saw God face to face, he named Him Jehovah-shalom…<\/em>The Lord is Peace. <\/em>There\u00a0was an old superstition that to see the face of God meant certain death, so when Gideon realized that it was the Lord Himself who had come\u00a0to visit him, he was sure it was all over. The Lord is Peace<\/em> came from his\u00a0relief that God\u00a0intended good, not ill, for him. That is what stood out to Gideon about the whole encounter. But after the fact, when he was neck-deep in the logistics of leading an army of beaten-down farmers against a superior foe, when the memory of Voice and Fire had blurred at the edges, he needed to know for sure that the calling\u00a0was true, and\u00a0the power was real, and\u00a0the Presence remained. So he pulled out that raggedy fleece and laid it out under the stars, begging God to do all the things he\u00a0could not, in this very real, very uncertain world; I’m not sure which is more remarkable, that the farmer trusted enough to ask for yet another sign, or that God stooped to touch his dirty rags, or that\u00a0the Lord’s promise to His people still rings out clear through the centuries: “For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) <\/span><\/em> Because this is still what we need to know most of all, and God still bends to assure us of His presence: His presence is peace, and He is good, and He is with us. “…Surely I am with you\u00a0always, to the very end of the age.\u201d (Matthew 28:20) <\/span><\/em> No temporary fleece, but a blazing Presence\u00a0in our hearts, the Living One who is able to control all the things\u00a0we care about most and are unable to change. “For\u00a0we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and\u00a0walk among them, and\u00a0I will be their God, and they shall be my people.'” (2 Corinthians 6:16)\u00a0<\/span><\/em> What more do we need?<\/span><\/p>\n

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“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” (James 1:5-8)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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“We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear;
\nWe cry in anger when we cannot feel You near;
\nWe doubt your goodness, we doubt your love,
\nAs if every promise from Your word is not enough.
\nAnd all the while, You hear each desperate plea,
\nAnd long that we’d have faith to believe.”
\n(Blessings,Laura Story)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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In this world of so many things gone wrong that we cannot fix, uncertain outcomes, unpredictable circumstances, sometimes all you want is assurances to hang onto. Super-powers would be nice, but I would settle for a burning bush, or fiery … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-soul-talk"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9XvNH-m2","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1366"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1383,"href":"https:\/\/www.curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1366\/revisions\/1383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}