Have you been in dire straits and desperately seeking someone to help you? Have you been in an organization that seemed to be doomed to fall apart? Did someone come to the rescue? Were there a handful of people who pulled the organization out of the gutter?
Being in great need can be extremely stressful and can get to the point of being overwhelming. We may come to the point of thinking there is no need to keep going. We may be on the verge of bankruptcy. We may be about to lose everything we own.
There are cases of organizations that are poorly run and continue to sink. There comes a time when they have no choice but to close. Perhaps there is one last ditch effort that can be made to save the organization. Maybe there is a consultant that can be called in who has the required skills to bring the organization back from the brink of closure.
The Israelites had disobeyed God and he had allowed them to be ruled by a foreign king. They were being mistreated and oppressed. Finally, they cried out to God for help. They were afraid the king was going to annihilate them. He had nine-hundred iron chariots and had been oppressing them for twenty years.
Deborah was ruling the Israelites at that time as their judge. God heard the cry of the Israelites and sent Deborah a message. She was a woman of God who listened to God’s command and called Barak to lead Israel’s army against King Jabin. But she did not merely sit on the judgment seat and send Barak out. No, she went with him onto the battlefield and the Israelites won the day. God freed them from their oppression.
We may find ourselves being oppressed. In fact, in many ways we are being oppressed, even if we do not recognize it. Our spirits have been and continue to be attacked little by little. Our culture continues to whittle away at our belief and faith. Deep down, we wonder if God is still in control. At some point, we must cry out as the Israelites did to have God rescue us from our oppression. Otherwise, we face an enemy we cannot overcome on our own.
I pray we all recognize the oppression we face every day. I pray we cry out to God to rescue us. I pray each one of us hold on to our faith and pray that God will relieve us of our oppression. Believe God can rescue you. Cry out for him to do so. Pray that God move mightily in our culture.
Judges 4:4, 6a At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel…. She sent and summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you,…”
Marty Pressey 