Gideon - "The Cycle Of Sin Of The Nation" Series

A Reminder of the Lord

Seven years of oppression and poverty by the Midianites and the people finally called on the Lord God, again. The Lord sent them a prophet who reminded them of what the Lord had done for them in the past. Judges 7-10 says,

When the Israelites cried to the LORD because of Midian, he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave you their land. I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.”

This cycle of sin should sound familiar to many of us. It is the same with our lives. God prospers us. We refuse to listen to or obey His Word. We get prideful and take credit for what the Lord has done for us. The Lord allows us to get our own way. We fail and everything falls apart because we lose His blessing. We are not in His will nor are we willing to listen. We finally after much suffering and destruction call on Him and listen to His Word.

Many in our nation are currently and have been taking credit for what the Lord has done for us. He has blessed us. He has given us the prosperity. We have taken the credit and now we are reaping the rewards of our rebellion and pride. We are literally pushing the Lord out of every area of life.

A Return to Him

The good news is that if we are willing to repent as a people and again follow Him, He will again bless us just as He did the Israelites. The coming year will not be any easy year. Faith crises, job loss, financial collapse, poverty increasing, health problems, loss of all kinds, wars and rumors of wars are already upon us.

But where and what do we begin to do to ensure 2009 is a "successful" or at least a blessed year? D. L. Moody, the 19th century evangelist said, "The world has yet to see what God can do with one man wholly committed to Him."

We begin right now, right here with our life to have a blessed year. A revival of any kind always begins with on Lord, one Savior, one life at a time. We must be willing to follow Him only, to obey His commands of loving the Lord, loving others, and telling about Jesus. Where do we begin? Better yet let’s make it personal, where do I begin? Let it begin with me, right now. How about you?