Judges | Causes of Collapse

Judges 8 // Gideon goes from threshing wheat to threshing flesh. He goes from stopping idolatry to leading people back into it. He goes from humility to hubris. How can we guard against collapse in our lives? Beware of turning God out. Are we expecting to hear from Him? How do we listen to His voice? In what ways do we tune Him out? Beware of feeding anger. Scripture warns about anger giving a foothold to the enemy. What makes you angry? How do you guard against it becoming destructive? Beware of living like a king. Gideon acknowledges God’s kingship with his lips, but not with his life. He acquires wealth and wives. He names his son “My father is king.” He creates a golden ephod that becomes a snare. Are there ways that we acknowledge God with our lips but not with our lives? What is competing for his place on the throne? Jesus is a better king than anything that we’re tempted to put in his place: money, sex, power, comfort, convenience. Remember that God is “the one who protects us from falling.” We should pursue the right safeguards and practices, but ultimately it’s His grace and faithfulness that keep us from collapse.