For All He Has Done

I have been studying Judges this summer (using Sandra Glahn’s study Java with the Judges, which I highly recommend for independent study if you’re looking to dig into the Word this summer).

Judges and some of the other history books of the Old Testament can be a bit hard to take with all the war and slaughter and seizing. However, it’s important to remember that God commanded them to conquer the land. This is the land which was promised to Abraham and his descendants. In order for them to possess it, they had to engage in battle with the current inhabitants. What’s more, the heathen people who were living there were really evil. As we all know, those whom we surround ourselves affect our actions and our thinking. Think of the guidelines that we set up for our children so that they can avoid being harmed by negative influences. God was doing the same thing for the same reasons.

Chapter 5 of Judges is the song of victory that Deborah and Barak sang after the Israelites drove the Canaanites out of the land:

2 “When the princes in Israel take the lead,
      when the people willingly offer themselves—
      praise the LORD!

3 “Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers!
      I will sing to the LORD, I will sing;
      I will make music to the LORD, the God of Israel.

4 “O LORD, when you went out from Seir,
      when you marched from the land of Edom,
      the earth shook, the heavens poured,
      the clouds poured down water.

5 The mountains quaked before the LORD, the One of Sinai,
      before the LORD, the God of Israel.

6 “In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
      in the days of Jael, the roads were abandoned;
      travelers took to winding paths.

7 Village life in Israel ceased,
      ceased until I, Deborah, arose,
      arose a mother in Israel.

8 When they chose new gods,
      war came to the city gates,
      and not a shield or spear was seen
      among forty thousand in Israel.

9 My heart is with Israel’s princes,
      with the willing volunteers among the people.
      Praise the LORD!

I was struck by the way that they chronicled their history and eventual obedience and success (and it continues in the rest of the chapter). They gave God full credit for the work that was done. Too often, I forget that He has called me to do a work for Him be it parenting, mentoring someone, removing sin from my own life, or a specific Christian work. Since it is He that called me to do the thing, I need to pray not only before and during the work, but after as well. That will keep me from either feeling defeated if it did not go according to plan, or feeling prideful if it went better than expected.

But then I got to verse twelve, and I stopped in my tracks:

‘Wake up, wake up, Deborah!
      Wake up, wake up, break out in song!
      Arise, O Barak!
      Take captive your captives, O son of Abinoam.’

He was speaking to me, “Wake up, Jennifer! Praise me for all I’ve done!”

So I thought of my own recent personal history–the battles I’ve won and those I am still fighting, and how He has been with me all the way:

Lord, three years ago you called us to move. We packed up our daughter who was just about to enter school and our newborn son and all our belongings and left Texas for Connecticut.

We left behind ministries, Christian friends, family, yet we know you went before us.

You provided a beautiful home for us in a town that we have come to love. You provided a wonderful school for Amanda and new friends each year. Kyle has grown up here just as well as he would have on Texas soil.

You showed us the church which we were to join almost immediately. Christian friends surround us, and we developing deeper and deeper ties.

You have shown us new ministries and we have accepted them gratefully. We have worked through hardship, personal sacrifice, and conflict, and you are always there.

You called us, you came before us, you continue to guide us. This is my song of praise.

What about you? For what can you praise the Lord today?