Live the Word Bible Studies

Purpose Study Bible 270: Peace

When Gideon realized that he had indeed been conversing with God Himself, he had a panic attack:

When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!” But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.” So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace (Judges 6:22-24).

But the Lord comforted him, reassuring him that His intentions were peaceful and were for the good of his people. Thereafter, Gideon constructed an altar to help him and others remember his encounter and revelation.

You also need a revelation that God is peace, that He is not trying to trick or mislead you by putting His desires in your heart. He made you as you are, so you can draw, paint, speak, build, grow, sing, or do what comes naturally for you without fear that you are getting ahead of Him or stepping outside His will. You can pursue the dreams in your mind and heart for they are not the result of ego or evil intention, but a supernaturally natural way of understanding and pursuing God's will for your life.

What are you afraid to do? What boundaries have you set that are not from the Lord that you have determined not to cross, which are now limiting you and your effectiveness for Him? What could you do if you accepted and walked in the reality that your God is the God of peace where you are concerned? When Gideon grasped that he had seen God and lived, he went on to accept God's role for his life. Now, God wants you to do the same.

Purpose Study Bible 269: Is He Waiting for You?

The Lord suddenly and without notice appeared to Gideon, announcing that he was the vessel God had chosen to deliver the people from the Midianites.

Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.” And the Lord said, “I will wait until you return” (Judges 6:17-18).

Gideon wasn't expecting to be promoted at the time, so he asked for a sign that it was really the Lord who was speaking to and directing him. So he set off to prepare an offering, to which the angel of the Lord responded, "I will wait until you return." God was willing to wait for Gideon and He's willing to wait for you.

You see, God's choice and call are sovereign and irrevocable. Yes, He may find someone else if you refuse, but they won't do what God wanted like you can. Their gifts, experience, and perspective are not the same—they can never be the same—so God waits for you because you are the only one who can do it like you.

So in what area is God waiting for you? Is He waiting for you to write the book, learn the language, take the trip, start the business? He's willing to wait and He is will to confirm His purpose for you, but you still at some point need to cooperate. Has he confirmed His will for you, perhaps on multiple occasions, yet you still procrastinate?

The good news in this story is that Gideon did return, God did confirm His will, and Gideon accepted God's call to lead. Now you have a decision to make. Will you do the same as Gideon or will you keep God waiting for you to return when you are ready to face your fears and accept your creative purpose? It's up to you.

Purpose Study Bible 268: How?

In the last study, we saw that the Lord instructed Gideon to "go in the strength you have" to fight the oppression of the Midianites.

“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive" (Judges 6:15-16).

Gideon asked a simple, one-word question: How? He could not see how he was possibly equipped to do what God was assigning, but the solution to his problem was simple: God would be with him and together they would complete the task. This is similar to what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 6:1" "As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain."

God is with you to do what He has given you to do. If you need to write, He is with you. If you need to give mercy, He is your source for that mercy. Whatever your purpose and whatever your gifts, the answer to the question "how?" is always the same: He will be with you to complete the work, but only if you cooperate and don't receive His grace in vain.

Do you need a reminder today that you are not alone? Where do you have Gideon's attitude? Do you respond like Gideon when God's prompts you to go or do: "How"? If you have accepted God's help, are you willing to go all the way and finish the job? God is willing to be your partner. The question remains, however: Are you willing to be His?

Purpose Study Bible 267: Your Strength Is In Your Call

When God showed up to tell Gideon that he was chosen to lead the people out of bondage, Gideon complained, to which the Lord replied,

The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” (Judges 6:12).

"Go in the strength that you have" and "Am I not sending you?". Those are two important points in your own call to purpose and creativity. You may not feel equipped to do what God has put before you to do, but since faith requires some kind of action response, you should take steps to do what is in your heart to do where you are with what you have. Then the truth found in Hebrews 11:34 will become a reality: "whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies."

Your weakness will transform to strength, but you will get that strength not before you go into battle but when you do. And where does this strength come from? Of course, it comes from the Lord, but let's be more specific. It comes from the Lord sending you to do what you were created to do. Your strength is in your call, your purpose, your mission—or whatever you choose to call it.

What can you do today with the strength that you have, trusting God for more as you go? What battle are you afraid to enter, but now you know God will energize you in it, not before? Where have talked about God's strength being made perfect in your weakness but you're afraid to apply that truth? God encouraged Gideon to go and use what he had and God is saying the same thing to you. Act and then you will see God act even more fully and powerfully on your behalf.

Purpose Study Bible 266: A Mighty Warrior

In Judges 6, we read how wayward Israel was suffering because they had betrayed God. They cried out for help and that's where the story of Gideon begins:

"When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, 'The Lord is with you, mighty warrior'" (Judges 6:12).

God appeared to Gideon and greeted him with a strange salutation, for Gideon had no history of leadership that we know of or any military background for that matter. Yet God greeted him with the title "mighty warrior." In other words, God saw Gideon differently than Gideon saw himself. Either Gideon didn't understand what God had said or he was in no mood for faith affirmations concerning his identity, for he immediately complained to the Lord about the current situation for him and the people.

The point is that it's important for you to walk in who God sees you to be and not who you think you are. It's also necessary for you to step away from what's on your mind and focus on what's on God's mind. That means you have to put aside family, finances, and the cares of this world in order to hear an accurate word from God as to who you are, what your gifts are, and what your purpose assignment is.

Do you have God's perspective on who you are? Do you want it? If you have it, are you walking in it or like in the parable of the sower, has this happened to you: "The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful."? God wants you to know who you are, but you must cooperate with Him as He shows you, and then you must disengage from what you have been doing so you can embrace your creative purpose.

Purpose Study Bible 265: The Someone Is You

Throughout the book of Judges, God's people had sinned and were therefore being oppressed by their enemies. When that happened, God would use certain people to deliver them. In Judges 4, He used a woman to kill the commander of their enemy named Sisera. You may want to read the story for yourself, but here is just one verse for you to consider:

“Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women" (Judges 5:24).

In this verse from Deborah's victory song, she praised a woman named Jael and called her blessed. Why? Because she had seized the moment and done something to help her people. We do not read that God told Jael to do this. In fact, no one told her to do what she did. Her people's enemy came into her tent and was vulnerable, and she took matters into her own hands, literally using a stake and hammer, and took out Sisera. After the victory, Deborah praised God and blessed Jael.

God will bring situations before you and expects you act according to who you are and what you know. If you're a writer, there will be times to write. If you are involved in some other form of creativity, then God expects you to create. He may send you a directive of what to do, but the longer you have known the Lord, the more He will expect you to act and not wait.

What situation is before you that you should or could act as Jael did? What are you waiting for? What are you afraid of? Why are you so surprised that if God wants to do something for others, He desires to go through people like you to get it done? Don't ever think or say, "Someone needs to do something." Instead, just assume you are the someone and then act according to the opportunities and open doors that are before you.

Purpose Study Bible 264: Your Part, Our Part, His Part

The first line of Deborah's song sung to commemorate Israel's victory was:

“When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves—praise the Lord!" (Judges 5:2).

The leaders in Israel finally led and the people responded accordingly, and then the Lord got involved:

“When you, Lord, went out from Seir, when you marched from the land of Edom, the earth shook, the heavens poured, the clouds poured down water. The mountains quaked before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord, the God of Israel" (Judges 5:4-5).

You have a purpose, something for you to do that only you can do. It may involve leading or you may be required to contribute your gifts to a team that you are not leading. The important thing is for you to know who you are, what you can do, and then get busy doing it—preferably with others who also know who they are. When that happens, God is released to do what only He can do because His people are accepting responsibility to do what He created them to do.

What were you created to do? Do you know? Are you willing to pay the price to find out? With whom can you fulfill your purpose and express your creative gifts? It says in Zephaniah 2:17, "For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs" (NLT). That's the dynamic we see in Judges—when the people engaged, God was activated.

In Judges 5:2, Deborah and the people were singing, but our goal is to have God sing over us because of us. That will only take place when we each accept our role in God's plan and go about joyfully being who God made us to be.

Purpose Study Bible 263: Creative Commemoration

After Deborah led a victory for God's people over their enemies, we read what she and the others did:

On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song (Judges 5:1).

And what was "that day" referred to in this verse?

On that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites. And the hand of the Israelites pressed harder and harder against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him (Judges 4:23-24).

Deborah composed and sang a song to commemorate God's faithfulness after the battle was won. In other words, she and the people engaged in a creative act and the words of that act were recorded so every generation could read and celebrate what God did.

I'm not equating your creativity with the inspired Word of God, but I'm simply pointing out that creativity is a God-given human response to life. You've enjoyed victories and suffered setbacks in your life's journey. One of the things God gave you to help interpret and respond to the events of life is for you to express your creativity in both high and low times.

What is your creative strength? Is it baking, cooking, sewing, composing, writing, rhyming, painting, singing, speaking, dancing, teaching, building, or some other expression? How are you using that strength, as a hobby or an important weapon and tool in your worship arsenal? Do you celebrate your victories in God by producing something creative that's consistent with who God made you to be?

Deborah and the other leaders didn't go home and carry on with their day-to-day duties until they had produced a creative work that described and commemorated God's faithfulness in their deliverance. Isn't it about time for you to use your creativity as a means to testify to others of God's goodness to you?

Purpose Study Bible 262: God's Part, Your Part

Deborah was a prophet and leader in Israel who played a significant role in the defeat of one of Israel's oppressors name Sisera. She advised Barak, one of the judges, to attack their enemies and encouraged him with these words;

Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?” (Numbers 4:14).

God had "gone ahead of" Barak, having already delivered Sisera into his hands. In other words. God had given His people the victory but they still had to walk out the actions necessary to realize that victory. The same is true for you.

Whatever God has directed you to do, He has already "gone ahead" of you to ensure your success. However, just like in this story, you're going to have to exert yourself to see it happen. If God has assured you that you'll write a book, He'll see that it's produced, but you have to write it. If He wants you to participate in a missions trip, He'll go before you to ensure your success, but you'll have to raise the money, get on a plane, go to where He wants you to do, and then once you're there do what He wants you to do. You won't be taking God there; He's already gone before you.

Where are you waiting on God to do what only you can do? He'll help you learn a language but you'll have to invest the time to study and practice. Where has God's promise of success caused you to be passive, waiting on the Lord, while He's waiting on you? Waiting on God isn't inaction, but rather taking appropriate steps that will ensure you are equipped to finalize and realize what God has promised. Where are you waiting to receive something from God in one place while He has promised to give it to you in another? God isn't just the God of your final breakthrough, but also the God of where and how you'll receive that breakthrough.

God has promised you the victory, but you have a role to play in it. Don't be fooled into thinking it's all God and none of you. You must play an active role in anything if you want to come into whatever God has prepared for you.

Purpose Study Bible 261: No Apologies

Israel had entered a new season in their history with God when people referred to as judges led them and handled their disputes:

Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided (Judges 4:4-5).

In these verses, we see that God appointed a woman named Deborah to be Israel's judge, a married woman who was also a prophet. We don't know anything about her husband, but we know a lot about her or at least we have one story to consider during her stint as a judge.

God's purpose for each individual is sovereign. He has His own reasons for choosing who He chooses and He explains Himself to no one. In this case, He chose a woman to lead the people, and that woman had already distinguished herself as a prophet. God obviously didn't care that she was a woman, and He did not assign another woman after her to be a judge as far as we know.

God can assign you a role that your culture or even your church usually assigns to someone of the opposite sex. A woman can lead, a man can work with children, a woman can build, a man can nurture or counsel. If God isn't concerned about your gender when He gives you your gifts and purpose, then you shouldn't be concerned either. Just be who God made you to be.

What has God assigned you to do? Are you hesitant to do it because others think it is inappropriate according to their customs and standards? Then perhaps God wants you to go where you will be appropriate and accepted and that's why you are experiencing opposition where you are now? The bottom line is God won't apologize for His choices, so it's best you get on with the plan and do what God wants you to do.