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1. A World in Need

Have you had a good look at the world around you lately?

Maybe you live in a safe suburb, going through the motions, punching the clock, and spending weekends doing your own activities. Even so, you might still notice some brokenness around you. A colleague at work going through a tough time; another man, woman, or child who is homeless; someone at the grocery store with hurt in their eyes; even someone in your own home having to put up a brave face despite all the pain.

You don’t need to go much farther than your own doorstep to see a world in need. And then you haven’t even looked at war-ridden countries; refugees fleeing for their lives; women and children being sold and trafficked like just another commodity; fellow Christians being persecuted by authorities and terrorists – even unto death.

Sorry if this is shaking your boat or rattling your cage a little bit now. Well, truth be told, we’re living in a broken and confused world with a greater need than most of us care to admit. And this is our reality because men have dropped the ball, and the Church has looked the other way. Society is collapsing because our church members would rather sit and enjoy the show than step out in God’s Name with something to sow. But an even greater concern is that the men who know God and should study His Word, fail to implement it in their daily lives at home and at work.

In today’s reading we see that only a few years after the Israelites inhabited the Promised Land, they were once again oppressed by their neighboring nations. The picture painted in Scripture is bleak and resembles what we may even see today in many third-world countries. Poverty, famine, fear, and corruption, to name a few, were all the order of the day. In a spiritual sense, many more of our first-world nations might even look way worse than this. And the simple reason as to why is given to us in Judges: “I am the Lord your God… but you have forsaken me.”

Societies are collapsing. Not because the system is broken. What else could you have expected from a system with its foundation in a broken world? But societies’ downfalls are mainly because the Church is not truly functioning as Christ’s Body, and men of faith are not growing towards holistic maturity and acting in spiritual soundness. As E.M. Bounds wrote, “Men are God’s methods. The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men.” Society, as well as the Church, will either stand or fall with men who act according to or abdicate, their God-given roles.

But we can turn the tide! Here and now! Through the next seven devotionals, we will take a deeper dive into Gideon’s story. And what we will see highlighted repeatedly is the Hidden Hero within every man. You see men, hidden within all of us is A Mighty Warrior, A Fearless Leader, and A Dauntless Disciple. But only when we truly find ourselves in the image of Jesus Christ as our King and Savior can we step up to fully walk in this.

Let’s take the journey with Jesus as we discover, or even reclaim, our identity, our calling, our position, and our authority – as men of faith!

Read Judges 6:1-10 and Reflect on the Following

1. In which ways have you noticed a broken world in need around you lately?

2. How have you, or have you not, felt like a warrior, a leader, and a disciple for Christ?

3. In what way might you have forsaken God?

4. What do you need to pray about today?