Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - How Do You Know God Loves You? | Judges | Judges 6:36-40

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life in the time it takes to get to work. I'm Keith Simon. I'm Tanya Wilmuth. And I'm Patrick Miller. Right now, we're going through the Book of Judges. If you haven't subscribed to our new podcast, Truth Over Tribe, I'd encourage you to take some time and go do that right now. We've got interviews about culture, politics, and the things you really care about with people like John Mark Comer, John Tyson, Oz Guinness, and many, many others. It's going to be a great podcast.

Starting point is 00:00:33 I've been excited about the interviews and the topics that we've taken on. So stop right now. Go subscribe to Truth Over Tribe on your podcast player. A few nights ago, I tucked in my daughter. And as I left the room, I started hearing her crying. And that's pretty unusual. So I turned back around and came back in. A little bit of context here.

Starting point is 00:00:53 She started kindergarten a few weeks ago. And, you know, emotions have been running high. So I get into her room, and I ask her, why are you crying? and she looks at me through her tears and she says, I don't know. I took her little face in my hands. I looked down at her right into her eyes and I said, I love you. You know I love you, right?

Starting point is 00:01:14 And she began to cry even harder and she finally says to me, how do I know you love me? Now these are the moments that break your heart as a parent. I mean, in a fraction of a second, you begin to question everything about your parenting style. I mean, how can my daughter wonder if I love her? How could you ask the question? How do I know if you love me? And then as I kept thinking about it, it started to seem crazy. I wanted to say, look, you know I love you because I make you lunch and dinner every day. I bathe you, I clothe you, I read stories to you, I teach you, I laugh with you, I encourage you. I tie your shoes, butt in your dresses, comb your hair, keep you safe, take you to fun places, talk to you about your day. That's how you know I love you. Isn't it obvious? But the thing is, that's not obvious. On this side of Adam and Eve's rebellion, the human heart is shot through with insecurity.

Starting point is 00:02:07 The most confident person you know wakes up in the middle of the night wondering if she's a fake. The most intelligent person you know goes to bed wondering, am I actually smart enough? The person that you love the most will often wonder, does she love me at all? Does he love me at all? You see, when humans chose to rebel against God, it created this gap in our relationship with him. It created a divide between us and the one being who can tell us with absolute finality, you are enough. I love you. And without those words of affirmation, we're always left in a state of profound insecurity. It's an insecurity that plagues us literally from the womb. It's an insecurity

Starting point is 00:02:50 that makes a little girl wonder, how do I know if you love me, Dad? It's an insecurity that I think makes every child of God repeat that exact same question. How do I know, God? How do I know if you love me? There's few characters in the Bible who are more insecure and unsure than Gideon. When God calls him to lead Israel, he says to God, surely you don't mean to talk to me because I'm a nobody. I'm definitely not enough for this job. This pattern of insecurity and doubts plagues him his whole life. And we see it most starkly in the story of Gideon and his fleece. After God has already told Gideon to go and lead the people in a military force against their oppressors, after God has already shown Gideon, his miraculous power, we read that this is what Gideon does,

Starting point is 00:03:42 Judges 636. Gideon said to God, if you will save Israel by my hand, as you have promised, look, I will place a wolf fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I'll know that you will save Israel by my hand as you said. And that's what happened. Gideon rose early the next day. He squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew, a whole bowl full of water. But the ground around it was all dry. So is that it?

Starting point is 00:04:11 You know, Gideon's finally got his sign. God's proven himself. God said, I'm here. I'm with you. I love you. So Gideon has what he needs, right? No, he doesn't. verse 39 then gideon said to god okay well don't be angry with me let me just make one more request

Starting point is 00:04:26 allow me one more test with the fleece but this time make the fleece dry and the ground be covered with due that night god did so only the fleece was dry all the ground was covered with due this won't be the last time that gideon's insecurities about himself and god crop up in his story but for now he's satisfied and he goes forward with god's plan but we have to be really careful. Gideon is not upheld as an ideal. Gideon is being portrayed as an adult who's acting like a child. He's an adult who's acting a lot like my daughter. You see, my daughter, she's been given plenty of ways to know that her dad loves her, but she's only five. So of course she needs to ask me that question. But Gideon isn't a five-year-old. He's an adult. And there's something totally

Starting point is 00:05:13 bizarre about him acting like a five-year-old before he leads squadrons of warriors. So often in our Christian life. We act like Gideon. We don't want to go forward with God's plan. We don't trust what he tells us about loving our enemies, resisting gossip, keeping our bodies sexually chased outside of marriage, committing ourselves to words that build others up instead of tearing them down, speaking truth, pursuing justice, giving generously. God's already been clear about what he's called you to do through his word. And he's shown you how much he loves you by doing nothing less than sacrifice His own son for your sake. Just stop and think about that.

Starting point is 00:05:55 How do you know that he loves you? He gave his child for you. And yet, so often, we, I act like Gideon. I lay out my metaphorical fleeces and say, God, if you really love me, if you really want to do this, then just give me a sign. And the simple truth is that God rarely does it. Because Gideon is not an ideal to copy.

Starting point is 00:06:17 He's an example to avoid. But what's that mean for us? I mean, if we all are insecure on multiple levels, if we're all still in the depths of our heart, five-year-olds, longing to hear God's approval and voice so that his words, I love you, I'm with you, can make us whole. If all of us are like that, what do we do? Well, I think what God would say is, don't ask me for signs. Signs aren't what you need. Signs never convinced Gideon that God loved him and that God was with him. He gave him plenty of signs. These aren't the only ones and they never convinced Gideon. No, don't ask for signs. Just ask God himself. Do what my daughter did that night. Look at God and say, God, how do I know you love me?

Starting point is 00:07:00 And he'll answer you, not by giving you miraculous signs, but he will answer you in his word. He will answer you through prayer. He will speak the words to your heart that you so desperately need to hear. After Iris asked me that question, I kept my eyes locked with her. And I spent five non-stop minutes, not only telling her how I loved her, but why I loved her. And as I did, she slowly stopped crying. The fear and the anxiety, it left her body. She relaxed. She smiled. And it was like those words filled her up. It was like they set her free. Don't you know that that's what God wants to do for you to take your face into his hands and tell you how he loves you and why he loves you? He does. He loves you. He will be with you. I hope you hear him even now.

Starting point is 00:07:47 in your heart saying, I loved you so much that I made you, that I designed you down to the smallest atom. I loved you so much that I gave up my greatest treasure for you. I love you so much that I promised to stay with you and never leave your side for a moment. You are loved. Don't ask God for a sign to go forward in your journey. Ask for his voice. Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe and give us a rating. That helps other people find this podcast more easily. Also, ask yourself, who could you share this podcast with? Texting an episode to a friend or a family member is a great way to help them grow spiritually.

Starting point is 00:08:34 If you want to go deeper, check out our show notes for book recommendations.

Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - How Do You Know God Loves You? | Judges | Judges 6:36-40

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