Faith And Name Changes
Arthur Miller, in his autobiography Timebends, tells of his marriage to Marilyn Monroe. During the filming of The Misfits he watched Marilyn descend into the depths of depression and despair. He feared for her life, as he watched their growing estrangement, her paranoia, and her growing dependence on barbiturates. One evening, after a doctor had been persuaded to give her yet another shot, Miller stood watching her while she slept. ‘I found myself straining to imagine miracles,’ he reflected. ‘What if she were to wake and I were able to say, “God loves you, darling” and she were able to believe it! How I wish I still had my religion and she still had hers.’ But Miller had no religion, no God to love and protect his beloved in her growing lostness. Tragedy seemed inevitable.
Before we leave Gideon’s story it’s worth noticing that his faith responses to God meant that he received a couple of name changes. His future was altered because he trusted the God who loved him and was for him. The trembling reluctant Gideon becomes a ‘mighty warrior’ in God’s sight. The term is used to describe a band of noblemen famed for their prowess in battle. Hardly the expected greeting for the fearful Gideon; there was no sword in his hand, but a threshing stick hurriedly wielded. He manned no battle station, but hid away like a nervous fugitive. And his own townspeople renamed him too, as someone famed for fighting Baal.
Don’t believe that everything is inevitable, that terrible failure is what is ahead, no matter how hard you try. For people of faith, everything - and everyone - can be different.