Today we'll start the book of Judges where we will find that the twelve tribes of Israel eventually became unfaithful to God and began practicing the ways of their pagan neighbors. As God allowed Israel to become oppressed by their neighbors they would repent and ask God to rescue them. So God would raise leaders to drive out the enemy. These leaders were known as judges. Not only did these judges drive out the enemy but they would also help turn the Israelites' hearts back to God.

I'm posting the video to this song "Who I Am HAtes Who I've Been" because it captures that same cycle we are all capable of falling into. Just like the Israelites, it is very easy to get comfortable and lose our zeal for God. In those moments it is very easy to get caught up in the world around us, which inevitably leads to getting caught up in the sins of this world. It's in the moments of spiritual, physical, or emotional oppression that we seek repentance and we realize how badly we have severed ourselves from God, and that's a place that once you have visited it you never want to return to.