“And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord because of the Midianites, that the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel.” Judges 6:7,8
Dear Ones:
In the book of Isaiah, the Lord speaks of an individual that “stirs” himself up, “…to take hold of Thee.” (64:7) The context of such a statement is found in the following words: “…for Thou hast hid Thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.” In the days of Gideon, when their enemies, the Midianites, swarmed the countryside, ridding it of all food and riches, the people were in a desperate situation, with non but God to appeal to. At some time, since they had entered into the promised land, they had begun to “fear other gods,” the gods of the people they had conquered. This “respect” for, and gradual belief in these gods, would result in the people’s departure from the true and living God. They had fallen into the devil’s trap of believing a lie, and choosing to live by it. The result was that God had given them over to their enemies, as they had no power to resist their yearly invasion of the country, with the devastation that they left behind. Thus, the people were motivated to stir themselves up to seek the Lord, for only by His intervention could a deliverance be achieved. They did so. God heard them, sending them first a prophet to set right in their minds and hearts that which was right in the sight of God. But also, God would call, equip, and anoint, a man, Gideon, who would by faith, defy the odds of deliverance, to conquer by the Lord’s hand, Israel’s enemies. God intervened because the people stirred themselves up to seek Him, by crying out to Him.
In the book of Haggai, when the people had returned to the land of Israel after the deportation, they faced great opposition to the rebuilding of the temple. And yet, under Cyrus, they were commissioned to do so. God had made it very clear that His temple would be rebuilt, specifically stating: “The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts.” (2:9) However, the Lord’s enemies succeeded in stopping the work on the house of God for approximately fifteen years. Through the preaching of Haggai and Zechariah, we find that, “…the Lord STIRRED up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people: and they came and did work on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God.” (1:14) In the first example of “stirring up,” it was the result of a conscious need, that became a conviction. In the second example, it is the Lord Himself, which “stirs up,” or gives the people a motive, a mission, and means by which they can, and will obey God, even in the face of opposition.
In the second letter, written by the Apostle Paul, to Timothy, he wrote: “Wherefore, I put thee in remembrance, that thou STIR UP the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.” (2 Tim. 1:6) It is in the following verse that we discover what this “stirring up” means. “For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power and of love, and of a sound mind.” (v.7) To stir up oneself to seek God, is to encourage oneself in the Lord, by approaching Him according to His truth and word. It is the active appropriation of Christ’s power, love, and soundness of mind. In the seeking of God, it is the setting of one’s will and heart, to derive all from Christ, finding in Him one’s all in all.
Stirring oneself up means to seek Christ, regardless of feelings, thinking, or the adverse conditions or circumstances, that would normally dissuade the believer from seeking God, but finding Him. To stir oneself up is to choose to take hold of God.
Dear Father, Stir us up wondrously today to seek Thee. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad