The Rut
If anyone was ever stuck in a rut it was the Old Testament judge, Gideon. Before his glory days leading Israel he described himself as the least from the weakest tribe (Judges 6:15). He was in a deep and far-stretching rut of cowardice. God saw something else.
A mighty warrior! Say what? Yes…God sees potential. He sees beneath the surface. The day God shared His vision with the cowardly man, Gideon was trying to thresh wheat IN the wine press. He was hiding from Midianites – he was too frightened to thresh his wheat in the open. How could this scaredy cat deliver Israel?
Unstuck
In order to accomplish God’s purpose Gideon had to get out of his rut – he needed to get unstuck. Setting new patterns of habits was the perfect place to start. Recognizing God’s presence was the initial step catapulting him from the debilitating crevice of cowardice. When we acknowledge God’s presence in our lives His divine peace follows.
God’s Presence + Peace + Purpose = Unstuck = Freedom
Despite his fearful deposition Gideon accepted God’s commission. He effectively traded his lonely existence in a rut for God’s presence, His peace, and His purpose, and he celebrated a newfound FREEEDOM. He become UNSTUCK.
By accepting his new leadership position with God, Gideon established godly habits in his life. He destroyed the idols that had gained a foothold in his community (Judges 6:25- 27). He establish a legacy of obedience in his life. He didn’t have time to think about being scared anymore. Being unstuck gave Gideon a new attitude based on freedom.
Gideon’s story continues through Judges 7 and 8. It’s an amazing story of the miraculous work God does when we escape the debilitating ruts that swallow us up and suck the life out of us. Gideon is an inspiration when it comes to allowing God to breathe new life into His children. Before Gideon died the once cowardly man effectively kept God’s people accountable and defeated an army of thousands with a small band of 300. He became the mighty warrior that God saw bubbling beneath the surface of a wimp.
Transformation
When Gideon broke out of his rut, he transformed. He changed the patterns of action and attitudes that hindered his life. He allowed God’s presence, peace, and purpose to breathe new life into him. He found new freedom and lived God’s purpose.
New Mexico needs transformation. We need to free ourselves from the ruts imprisoning our state. NM lives in ruts of corruption. Alcoholism. Comfort . . . resisting positive change. But it isn’t only our state. It’s the people. Oh my, I know many of us are stuck in ruts that suck the very life out of us. That is not of God. Like Gideon, we need to leave fear behind and replace it with confidence. We need to leave idols behind, and fully acknowledge God. We need to negative family traditions and lifestyles behind and replace them with God’s ways. We need to launch ourselves out the obvious ruts that imprison us, as well as the subtle ruts that devour even the most devout Christians: low self-esteem, gossip, greed, unkindness, ungodly attitudes, blaming others for our own problems, seeking idols instead of God, and the list goes on and on.
Ponder this for bit. Is there a rut in your life in which you need to break free? Identifying a rut is half the battle, because face it, who wants to admit falling short of perfection? I don’t, but then I get stuck. New Mexico has lots of “stuck” bringing down it down. Let’s work at building The Land of Enchantment back up by getting unstuck! Let’s transform ourselves and our state.
Prayer Needs:
- Pray that God will help you identify any behaviors that have you stuck in a rut.
- Pray for awakening by the citizens that we can work together to break out of the ruts into which our state is languishing, and what purpose can YOU serve for the greater good of our state.
- Pray to live and partner with God like Gideon did. Just like he defeated thousands with 300, so can we! With God all things are possible.
- Praise God for the Light of Jesus that does shine bright in our state. Ask that if shine a little brighter every day so more people can bask in His freedom.
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