Focus

As you quiet yourself for this brief time, be willing to be open to God, however that may take place.

Read

Judges 6:36-40 (NRSV)

Then Gideon said to God, “In order to see whether you will deliver Israel by my hand, as you have said, I am going to lay a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will deliver Israel by my hand, as you have said.” And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. Then Gideon said to God, “Do not let your anger burn against me, let me speak one more time; let me, please, make trial with the fleece just once more; let it be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew.” And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.

Reflect

I was in the toy section in a store earlier this week and saw a Magic 8 Ball. They have certainly stood the test of time! They came out in the 1950s, so I was surprised to see them on the market. In case you aren’t familiar, it’s a hollow, plastic sphere that looks like the 8 ball used in billiards. After asking a yes or no question, you turn the ball over and your answer is revealed through a little window at the bottom. Did you know there are 20 possible answers? Ten of the possible answers are affirmative, five are negative, and five are non-committal.

When I read this passage, I immediately thought of the Magic 8 ball. Since they didn’t have them back then, Gideon had to rely on the fleece and water method to determine God’s will. Could you imagine how that would go today?

Gideon: “Will God deliver Israel by my hand like he said he would?”

Magic 8 Ball: “Outlook good.”

Gideon: “I’m not trying to get on your nerves, but, are you sure about this?”

Magic 8 Ball: “You may rely on it.”

How do we determine what God’s will is for us? In Sunday school we talk about this a lot. Perhaps there is no one certain way to interpret what God would have us do. We can pray. We can meditate. We can seek wise counsel. I think if we earnestly seek to be like Jesus, then it will be revealed to us. I also know that if we screw up, God will still be with us. Like Paul told the Romans, things will work together for good. “It is decidedly so.”

Pray

Holy and omnipotent God, thank you for your loving, patient presence. Forgive us when fail to seek and do your will. Give us wisdom and courage to be more like Jesus. In his name. Amen.

Go with God.