Judges 3

Strength in the Struggle

Only so that the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formerly known it. ~ Judges 3:2

Have you ever wondered why some battles don’t go away as quickly as you prayed they would? You believed, you trusted, you asked God to remove it, and yet it’s still there. It can feel confusing, even frustrating, especially when you’re trying to walk closely with Him.

Today’s scripture offers a perspective we don’t always consider. God allowed certain challenges to stay, not to harm His people, but so they would trust Him and because He wanted to walk with them through those battles into victory. The reason was because walking through the battle with His guidance strengthened their trust in Him for the next battle that would come. In the same way, there are moments in our lives when God doesn’t immediately remove the struggle, because He is developing something within us through it and walking with us in it.

Here are three truths from this chapter that can help you to see your current battles differently.

1. Battles are meant to make you stronger, not stop you

God allowed opposition so His people would learn how to fight and depend on Him. Not every struggle is meant to be avoided. Some are meant to strengthen you. Instead of asking only for the situation to be removed, ask God what He wants to build in you and lead you through it.

If you’re facing constant pressure at work, instead of seeing it only as stress, begin to ask God for wisdom, patience, and strength. You may find that He’s building confidence and resilience in you that you wouldn’t gain any other way.

2. God raises up help right on time

Throughout this chapter in Judges, when the people cried out, God raised up deliverers. He didn’t ignore their pain. He responded with provision. Don’t stop calling on God in the middle of your struggle. Your breakthrough may already be in motion.

Maybe you’ve been praying for direction in a difficult season. Keep seeking Him. That right conversation, that opportunity, or that moment of clarity is closer than you think.

3. Your obedience positions you for freedom

Each time the people turned back to God, they experienced deliverance. Their response mattered. In the same way, begin to choose obedience in the small things of life. It keeps your heart open and ready for what God wants to do. If God has been prompting you to forgive someone, take that step. It may not feel easy, but it releases you from carrying something that was never meant to weigh you down.

I’ve seen this play out many times in my own life. One particular example was when I was searching for a place to live near my children’s school. Because of the strain of separating from their father, I didn’t want to add the tension of a new school while everything was still settling. I kept praying that God would lead me to a home in their school district, but each time I prayed, He pointed to a places about a half hour away.

During that time, the Holy Spirit began to show me that the daily drive to and from school would become a time of strengthening and deepening my relationship with my kids. Even though it wasn’t always convenient and I didn’t always enjoy those early mornings, those car rides became precious moments. They turned into opportunities to pour into them, to share godly truths, and to learn Scripture together.

What I had been asking God to remove because it felt too hard to carry was actually something He was using for a greater purpose. At first, it didn’t make sense. It felt like wasted time, driving back and forth. But looking back now, I can see how He was showing me how to trust Him more deeply, to stand firm when things didn’t change right away, and to depend on Him in ways I hadn’t before. What felt like resistance was actually preparation and growth for what was coming next.

Today I want to encourage you that the battle you’re facing is not wasted. God is using it to strengthen you, to prepare you, and to draw you closer to Him. You are not alone in it, and you are not without help. He is with you, He is working, and He is faithful to bring you through.

Today’s scripture reading: Judges 3

1 Now these are the nations which the Lord left, that He might test Israel by them, that is, all who had not known any of the wars in Canaan 

2 (this was only so that the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formerly known it), 

3 namely, five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath. 

4 And they were left, that He might test Israel by them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of the Lord, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

5 Thus the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 

6 And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons; and they served their gods.

7 So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God, and served the Baals and Asherahs. 

8 Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the children of Israel served Cushan-Rishathaim eight years. 

9 When the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the children of Israel, who delivered them: Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 

10 The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord delivered Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed over Cushan-Rishathaim. 

11 So the land had rest for forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

12 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord strengthened Eglon king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord. 

13 Then he gathered to himself the people of Ammon and Amalek, went and defeated Israel, and took possession of the City of Palms. 

14 So the children of Israel served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years.

15 But when the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them: Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. By him the children of Israel sent tribute to Eglon king of Moab. 

16 Now Ehud made himself a dagger (it was double-edged and a cubit in length) and fastened it under his clothes on his right thigh. 

17 So he brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. (Now Eglon was a very fat man.) 

18 And when he had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who had carried the tribute. 

19 But he himself turned back from the stone images that were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” He said, “Keep silence!” And all who attended him went out from him.

20 So Ehud came to him (now he was sitting upstairs in his cool private chamber). Then Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” So he arose from his seat. 

21 Then Ehud reached with his left hand, took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 

22 Even the hilt went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the dagger out of his belly; and his entrails came out. 

23 Then Ehud went out through the porch and shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

24 When he had gone out, Eglon’s servants came to look, and to their surprise, the doors of the upper room were locked. So they said, “He is probably attending to his needs in the cool chamber.” 

25 So they waited till they were embarrassed, and still he had not opened the doors of the upper room. Therefore they took the key and opened them. And there was their master, fallen dead on the floor.

26 But Ehud had escaped while they delayed, and passed beyond the stone images and escaped to Seirah. 

27 And it happened, when he arrived, that he blew the trumpet in the mountains of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mountains; and he led them. 

28 Then he said to them, “Follow me, for the Lord has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him, seized the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross over. 

29 And at that time they killed about ten thousand men of Moab, all stout men of valor; not a man escaped. 

30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.

31 After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad; and he also delivered Israel.

Journal:

• What current challenge might God be using to strengthen me
• How can I invite God into my situation instead of trying to handle it on my own
• What is one step of obedience I can take today that will move me closer to freedom