Sometimes God’s call brings us to roles where God is my strength has to be more real then it ever has been before. He draws us into positions we feel ill-equipped for and into roles we could never imagine ourselves in. He uses what the world would call a weakness as a platform. As we find ourselves in Judges 3 we find the Israelites once again falling away from the Lord.
In the chapters leading up to this, we find over and over again the people forgetting the Lord and His ways. So God removes His protection and allows one of their enemies to conquer them. Each time the people cry out, the Lord delivers them. Each time God will raise someone to save them.
Othniel |The First Judge God Raised
In Chapter 3 of the Book of Judges, we meet Othniel- and I love how the Bible Introduces him. Despite his story only having a few verses they hold so much truth for us. The first thing the writer of this passage wants us to know is exactly who this man is. This guy is Caleb’s nephew -the writer wants you to make that connection- can you imagine the stories he grew up with? He would have grown up in the shadow of giants of faith, Caleb’s decision to take the hard places instead of going for the easy route would have directly impacted his life.
The Bible says that the “spirit of the Lord” came upon him. Notice what it doesn’t say? It doesn’t say He woke up one day and decided to go save Israel, or he relied on his family’s reputation. He didn’t go out in his power. It doesn’t even say he was a trained leader, that he was qualified for the position that he was going to step into.
Is God Really Our Strength?
How many of us are trying to get through life in our power? We’re trying to get through the storms by paddling in our little strength and not getting anywhere. We try to trek through the dry season on our own, instead of relying on God.
The name Othniel is believed to mean “lion of God” or “strength of God”, doesn’t that paint a picture? We try so hard to keep it all together, to keep all of the balls in the air, to keep our heads above the water by ourselves. We push and shove to make things happen on our time table but we only find ourselves deeper in the water.
Stop Trying To Do It All And Let God Be Your Strength
Stop trying to do this on your own. Stop leaning on your ability – fling yourself into the arms of your savior and let God be your strength. You can’t do this on your own, but your father is waiting to sweep in and be the strength you need. We were never meant to live life on our own and yet for some reason we think we have to do it all on our own. That we have to get it together on our own before we can come to the Lord, but that isn’t how it is at all.
Scripture goes on to say that once the spirit came on him, Othniel judged Israel. And then he went to war, only then did the Lord give them the victory. There are steps to reaching the point God has for us, we have to follow obediently in tandem without trying to skip steps. Before freedom and victory were ever mentioned, the Spirit and God’s strength were there. God is my strength has to be more than a cliche phrase and become a tangible thing.
God Is My Strength Has To Be More Than Just Words
Before we can ever think of winning the battle we need His presence. We need to be soaked in God’s strength. When we are walking with God our vision change, it gives us the ability to Judge what is right & wrong. It gives us a scale to measure every aspect of our lives and set our homes in order. It becomes the foundations of truth that is solid and unchanging in societies shifting sands. And then we go to war, but it must first start with us.
God is my strength must become more than 4 little words strung together or random letters, it has to be more than just a phrase, it has to become so real we can touch it and hold on to it when the battle comes. Where our strength lies is the difference between defeat and victory.
Check out more of our Judges series:
Before you go, check these out!
- Clinging To A Promise | Caleb’s Anthem
- When I Walk Through The Fire God Is With Me
- When God’s Answer Doesn’t Look Like You Thought It Would
We can learn so much from some of the less popular “characters” in the Bible. Thanks for sharing.
The judges teach us so much about our God, and ourselves. Thank you for this. When you share so vividly it becomes very real!