Mickey Starling
reporter3@greenepublishing.com
My family took few vacations as I was growing up. I only recall one, which was a fun trip to the mountains in North Carolina. My dad’s version of a vacation typically involved going to Cherry Lake for a swim.
I made up for lost vacation time after I became an adult, taking summer breaks often, usually going to the mountains or enjoying a cruise to the Bahamas. As I aged, the toll of time dictated the neccessity of vacations requiring less travel.
My recent vacation spot was a nearby cabin, surrounded by a beautiful lake full of fish waiting to evade my bait. The amount of peace and quiet we enjoyed far outweighed the fish we were fortunate enough to catch. The rest was so nice that I slept well all week, rising early to wet a hook and whet my appetite for the days’ adventures.
As I returned home, things got back to normal in a hurry. The peaceful rest was gone with the first early-morning clap of thunder that sent my spoiled 30-pound dog leaping across every organ in my body. Her quest for safety ended my quest for sleep. In a nearby room, my 90-pound doberman was awakened in her pen. The thunder created apocalyptic fears of impending doom, and she struggled loudly to free herself from what was previously her safe confines. Her food dish clanged like a fire alarm as she tussled back and forth.
At this point, I chose to lose myself in memories of that quaint and quiet little cabin, free of the adventures of my wild kingdom. No barking, ninja cat attacks or fearful romps across my unsuspecting abdomen were to be found. Peace hovered over the cabin with a warmth that rivaled my grandmother’s quilts covering me in the dead of winter.
Peace was worth the price of admission. It always is, whether you are on vacation or dealing with daily life. There is strength in peace you won’t find in busyness or accomplishments. Identity becomes clearer in the midst of peace. Better yet, the Lord’s voice becomes more discernible when quiet accompanies peace.
In Judges 6, we find Gideon, a man who is anything but peaceful. His homeland is being ransacked by an enemy too numerous to count. He is hungry and poverty stricken. Suddenly, the Lord shows up, chilling under an oak tree near where Gideon is preparing a morsel of food to hide.
In his fear and disappointment with life, Gideon lost himself to his surroundings until he caught the gaze of his God. Then, things begin to slowly change as Gideon is transformed from a weak whiner to a valiant warrior. Once Gideon is convinced that God is serious about using him to defeat the enemy, his transformation begins with a small, but powerful step. He builds an altar, offers a sacrifice and declares “The Lord is peace.”
Gradually, this realization fuels Gideon to increasingly trust God to do the impossible through him. Actually, his obedience was all that was needed. God did all the heavy lifting.
Peace often follows obedience in our lives as well. Have you ever wondered why God requires our participation in circumstances that are beyond our ability to change? I believe Gideon’s life reveals one of the reasons. After the enemies of Israel have been defeated, Gideon asks the captive kings of Midian a question: “What kind of men were they whom you slew at Tabor? And they replied, They were like you, each of them resembled the son of a king” (Judges 8:18 ).
Though God didn’t need Gideon’s help, Gideon needed to see God correctly in order to become a man who “resembled the son of a king.” Confronting his adversaries in God’s strength made that possible and began to make peace his constant companion.
Choose to trust God when the odds are stacked against you, even if your air conditioning unit dies suddenly, as mine did while I’m writing this. I can keep my cool because the Lord is ready for anything, and I intend to trust Him so that I, too, will look like who I am, a son of the King.