Judges 4, 8
The time of the Judges was characterized by self-centered morality. The phrase, "every man did that which was right in his own eyes," is repeated relentlessly. This skewed, subjective sense of right and wrong seemed to have also produced a slow, apathetic attitude towards God's calling and commandments.
When God called Barak to attack the Midianites in Judges 4, he felt he had the liberty to come to God with conditions to his obedience. It also produced a mocking cynicism in God's people when it came to God's ability to deliver them from their oppressors; hence, Gideon struggled to raise support for his own ultimately victorious battle against the Midianites in Judges 8-9.
Do you find yourself negotiating the terms of your own obedience to God's commands? Do you find it difficult to conceive of the fact that God is able to deliver you from the sins and temptations that oppress you? If so, maybe we need to be reminded that God does have an absolute standard of right and wrong; and a quantifiable expectation of each and every one of us.
Do you find yourself negotiating the terms of your own obedience to God's commands?
He will enable us to be obedient to His word, but we need to bring to Him our surrendered and willing hearts. If you offer Him your heart and life again, He will accept you and empower you to live a life of victory and freedom.