"But God...." I said.

Don't you love that, "But God..."; it's something we all say at some point. It's something we say when we are doubting God and His Plan. During some quiet time Friday, I came across this concept (actually it was more of a big spiritual body slam), and I realized that deep in my heart, I was asking the same question, the same question as Gideon in Judges 6.

^{Judges 6: 11-16}

¹¹ The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. ¹² When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.”

 ¹³ “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.”

 ¹⁴ 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?”

 ¹⁵ “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.”

 ¹⁶ The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

An angel comes to Gideon, speaking the Words of the Lord. "Gideon, you're going to be a great leader." And Gideon's first question I know can resonate with all of us. "But God, if you are with me, then why has all of this bad stuff happened." Why has [x] happened, Why has [y] happened? Why did [name] die? Why did [blank] lose their job? Why can't I have that group of friends? Why can't I succeed? It's whatever it is for you. For me in high school, it was mainly "Why can't I have a strong group of friends? Why can't I have a boyfriend? God, What is wrong with me?" Now, thankfully, in God's goodness and timing, all of those questions have been answered, but that is a story for another day. And you have to love God's response. "Gideon, go in strength, you are going to deliver Israel from the hands of your oppressors." I related that to God saying, "I've allowed it to happen so that I could raise you up to be a great leader. I've allowed this to refine you, to strength you. Now, go in the strength that I will give you." God allowed (note: I did not say "cause") the negative things to happen in Job's life in order to refine him, to test him and his faith. God will use things to refine us at times, steer us back on track at times (Jonah and storm and the great fish), to show us His strength to overcome at times, and really it is to teach us or show us whatever is in His Plan, His Will. So that list is not limited to the things listed there.
Back on subject though, then Gideon says what we all love to do, he makes an excuse. "But God, I can't. My family is the least of all the families in Israel and I'm the youngest, so I'm at the very low end of the totem pole. Sorry, you got the wrong guy." God's response, "I'm with you. No need to be afraid. I AM WITH YOU!" God never picks the wrong people. And to sum all of this up, if you truly believe that Jesus Christ died for you to save you from the death and destruction and eternal separation from Him , then you have been called as a leader. There is someone in your life that you have been called to reach out to and share the Gospel, to show love. You are called to be a leader, just like Gideon. God picked you for a reason, and He doesn't pick the wrong people. So, Who can you lead? And How can you lead them?