{"id":55313,"date":"2019-05-12T15:20:50","date_gmt":"2019-05-12T12:20:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=55313"},"modified":"2022-12-04T18:15:22","modified_gmt":"2022-12-04T16:15:22","slug":"the-long-grind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-long-grind\/","title":{"rendered":"The Long Grind"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[452,503,808],"acf":{"old_id":"55313","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":54869,"related_cahpter":"217","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Gideon\u2019s strength in body, mind, will and spirit","content":"

As he is threshing in secret, hiding in a wine press from the thieving Midianites, young Gideon beholds an angel of God. \u201cThe Lord is with you, valiant warrior!\u201d cries the angel.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gideon responds skeptically and readily: \u201cIf the Lord is with us, why has all this befallen us?\u201d He has heard tales of miracles, yet all he feels is God’s abandonment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gideon\u2019s skepticism does not deter the angel, who tells him, \u201cGo in this strength of yours and deliver Israel from the Midianites.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What strength does the angel mean? What does he see in young Gideon? Perhaps it is physical strength, for threshing in a confined and airless space requires tremendous exertion. Perhaps it is strength of personality, for Gideon clearly thinks and speaks for himself.<\/span><\/p>\n

Or perhaps what the angel saw in Gideon was a strength of faith. Gideon does not reject God, as his forefathers have done. Somehow Gideon wants to believe, despite all experience to the contrary. His condition is certainly unenviable\u2014hard labor inside a literal symbol of oppression, eking out sustenance where once they produced luxuries like wine. <\/span><\/p>\n

Yet Gideon\u2019s doubts about the goodness and power of God have never convinced him that God is not present. He may question his own fitness to lead, but he faithfully carries out what his conscience and the voice of God tell him he must do. His conviction rallies tens of thousands to his cause. Gideon\u2019s strength is his faith, the belief that through perseverance his world will get better.<\/span><\/p>\n

May we all draw upon the strength of Gideon, and keep going carrying our heaviest doubts and fears. May we work in secret when we must, and alongside legions when we can, faithfully doing the hard work of what is right.<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: <\/span>Gideon’s Call<\/span><\/i>, 1860 woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld \/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":55314,"id":55314,"title":"jud6-gideons call","filename":"jud6-gideons-call.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud6-gideons-call.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-long-grind\/jud6-gideons-call\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"jud6-gideons-call","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":55313,"date":"2019-05-12 12:20:38","modified":"2019-05-12 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