FAll Back or Spring Forward

We are post event one day of “falling back.”  If I had to choose between the two, “fall back” or “spring forward,” I would certainly choose to “fall back.”  However, that phrase to “fall back” rings a different thought in my mind.  I think it comes from watching too many John Wayne movies or military movies of World War II.  According to Idioms and Phrases, the phrase believed to be “derived from a military meaning to retreat in the 1600s.”  Collins Dictionary notes the meaning to be “to withdraw; give way; retreat.” Those definitions are precisely what I think of having been heavily influenced by military movies.  My assessment would be if someone yells retreat, run like a lion is after you and get to safety.
 
Many of us may not use the exact term to “fall back” but we have withdrawn, given way and retreated from others.  When we have felt attacked with unkind words, our natural response is to retreat or even recoil from the perpetrator. It’s hard to stand firm, hold our ground and let the assault happen.  As a child, I had a plan of action if someone came into the house.  I would hide under the bed, certainly thinking as a child would think that the intruder would not look under the bed.  I have matured in my plan of action. Now I would ask God to drop them in their tracks.  Now what that means is up to God’s choosing.
 
I love the story of Gideon largely because I feel I can relate to being afraid and unsure of the courage and strength an action may require.  In Judges 6, we find the Israelites under great oppression of the Midianites. The Israelites had done evil in the eyes of the Lord.  So for seven years they had been ravaged by the Midianites so much so that they had fled to the mountains and sought refuge in caves. The Israelites cried out to God who in turn sent a prophet to them in verses 8-10 who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors; I drove them out before you and gave you their land.  I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.” The Israelites had retreated from the land that God had given them and were being overrun, their animals and crops were ravaged.  Their plan was to “fall back,” no defense, nor repentance for their sins, beaten into hiding.
 
The Lord sent an angel who sat under an oak tree and began to engage Gideon who was using a winepress to thresh wheat to keep it from Midianites. In verses 12-16, when the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.  “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.” Gideon had no confidence in overcoming the enemy, nor in God using him to defeat the Midianites.  His clan was the weakest and he was the least in his family.  Gideon saw himself on the short end of the stick.  He felt he was of no value in defeating the enemy and was giving the reasons to “fall back” and retreat.

Even though he was afraid, in verse 27, Gideon did as the Lord instructed him, tearing down the Baal altar.  He did it at night because of the fear of his family and of the townspeople. The rest of chapter 6 of Judges tells us of Gideon asking for signs to confirm God’s directive and in chapter 7, Gideon leads a selected group of men to defeat the Midianites.

I want to recap the story by pointing out what got the Israelites into trouble from the very start.  They embraced the culture that we were exposed to instead of being people set apart by God. In our space and time in history, we need to be very mindful of who we are in Christ and the counter culture that is so prevalent. Have we taken on some of the practices or thoughts that are so prevalent and does not reflect our God?  Let’s remember these scriptures of encouragement.

Matthew 5:13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

1 Peter 2: 9-10 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 

Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Let’s maintain being set apart however when God calls us to “spring forward” and not “fall back or retreat.  Let’s remember the truth found in the life story of Gideon.  When God calls us, we need to run as a lion toward evil. Remember, He sees us as mighty warriors.  We go in the strength we have because He is sending us. God’s presence will go with us and He will fight the battle and win.  

At times, God may tell us to walk away and to “fall back.” However let’s make sure to prepare now by developing deep confidence in the Lord, which will produce boldness to “spring forward when we need to.”  We are living in evil times and God may use us to rise up for His righteousness sake.  We are mighty in the Lord.
Blessings,
Karen