Author: admin

Throughout Scripture and history, some of the greatest of human accomplishments commenced at an early hour. With so much to accomplish in the day, men and women had to rise early in the morning. Often people who accomplish the most in the day are the ones who choose to have a longer day!

Some people cannot seem to navigate the early hours. They are not “morning people.” Other people enjoy the late hours of the previous day too much. Beginning a day sluggishly means you may not be fully prepared to deal with what is coming. When the opportunity arises, they are still attempting to gain their bearings.

When it comes to God’s activity, we cannot afford to be unprepared. When God has us ready, He can do more through us in an hour than we could accomplish on our own in a decade. But we must be prepared.

Something special can happen in the still, quiet hours of the early morning that does not occur in the midst of the din of afternoon rush hour! Take time soon to rise early and to prepare your heart and mind for what God is preparing to do. As you listen to what is on God’s heart, you might be overwhelmed by what you hear!

God, in His grace, gave His hesitant servant more than enough evidence to be assured he had heard his divine summons correctly. Yet Gideon still desired more. There are times when we need to make absolute sure we heard from God. However, once we have clearly heard, it is time to move forward.

At times God’s work is left wanting because we keep asking for further proof that He has spoken. Sometimes our request for assurance is merely delaying our obedience. We cannot keep asking for proof and move forward in obedience at the same time!

God will not always enter into a prolonged conversation with His hesitant servants. He did with Moses, but ultimately God became angry with him. God also graciously gave Gideon the further evidence he requested. God demonstrated grace and patience with Gideon not only because He loved him, but also because He loved His people. God often must demonstrate infinite patience with us in order to get us to the place where we are of service to Him. Could it be that it is time to talk less, and to act more?

God is an expert at building our faith. He knows that without faith, our lives cannot please Him (Heb. 11:6). So God has a plethora of ways to strengthen our trust in him.

We might be quick to dismiss the timid Gideon for requiring yet one more sign from God before he marched into battle. After all, he had already met face to face with the angel of God, had heard God speak to him, and had watched his sacrifice miraculously consumed by fire. Nonetheless, at this critical juncture in his nation’s history, the timid farmer was determined to make sure he was in the center of God’s will. There was too much at stake to make a mistake. Too many people would lose their lives if Gideon led on his agenda instead of God’s.

God was patient with Gideon. He knew how much hung in the balance for His people. God wanted Gideon to succeed more than Gideon did! Ultimately Gideon became convinced he was in God’s will. And, once the farmer knew he was doing what God had asked, and that God would go with him, he was unstoppable.

Sometimes leaders need to regain their spiritual bearings. We can become so involved in the frenetic activity of getting things done, that we lose sight of who we are doing it for.

Gideon’s life had been swept up in a whirlwind since his first encounter with God. His life had been threatened, his father had taken a bold stand against his neighbors, thousands of soldiers were mobilizing and looking to him for leadership, and his nation’s fiercest enemies were on the move. At times life can move at blinding speed for a leader!

But that was also when Gideon needed to be reassured that what he was doing was God-orchestrated. Gideon knew full well that he had no power to deliver anyone from oppression, let alone his entire nation. Gideon also knew that busyness often causes us to forget or mistake what God said earlier. So Gideon asked for a sign. Asking for a sign is not an act of faith. But it may well be necessary if we are going to obediently march forward with confidence.

Is your faith wavering? Have you lost your confidence that God can and will provide for your need? Perhaps you need to take time to rebuild your faith so you are prepared for the victory that is coming.

Throughout history, God has always chosen to use leaders. If He chose to, God could send an angel and disperse His enemies much more efficiently. But in His sovereign wisdom, God often decides to raise up ordinary people to do His bidding and thereby give Him the maximum glory.

The land had been oppressed for seven years. All that time the oppressed people had ample warriors with which to resist the enemy. What it lacked was godly leadership. In most cases, people are waiting for someone to lead them to overcome their nation’s problems.

As soon as Gideon had been transformed by a divine encounter, people began to recognize an authority in the young farmer they had never seen before. People who were earlier prepared to kill him for destroying their altar, were now strapping on armor prepared to put their lives on the line for him.

If you are presently struggling to have your people follow you as their leader, perhaps you first need a fresh encounter with God. Do your people clearly recognize God’s hand on your life?

At first glance it might seem bewildering why our Lord allows opposition to come against us so fiercely when we are trying to obey Him. Shouldn’t God make life easier on those who serve Him? Shouldn’t God make obedience to Him as attractive as possible? Yet He does not. Often, in fact, life becomes more difficult after we pledge ourselves to His service.

“But!” But, God does not remain indifferent to our plight. He gives us one gift of inestimable value that more than compensates for any problem we might face. His presence. God’s answer for Gideon was not more soldiers or chariots, but more of Himself. Once Gideon had the Holy Spirit filling Him, he had more than enough resources to defeat his fiercest enemy.

As time would prove, the Holy Spirit led Gideon to embrace an unorthodox strategy never attempted before or since. God’s Spirit worked to bewilder Gideon’s enemies and to make Gideon’s efforts succeed. Gideon learned experientially that when God is for us, it matters not who is against us (Rom. 8:31).

In all of your calculating of how you will overcome your obstacles, never minimize the glorious reality that God goes with you.

It is uncanny how enemies always seem to appear right after we make a decision to follow God’s leading! It could be that we made a resolve to change our eating habits, but then soon after we find ourselves staring at the one food item that causes us to stumble every time! Or we resolve to rise earlier to spend time with God, but then we proceed to have the worst night’s sleep we have had in years. Or, we resolve to give more of our funds to the Lord’s work, and then our car’s transmission breaks down. Or, we begin a new ministry in our church, and suddenly critics complain of the additional expense. You can count on it; if you proceed with God, fresh new challenges will soon be crossing the border into your life!

It was easy for Gideon to agree with God that he should be a deliverer, as long as the enemy was safely on the other side of the river! But when the enemy drew near, that was when Gideon’s faith was sorely put to the test. His faith would no longer be in theory, but in reality.

Have you faced any challenges since you committed to do what God asked of you? Did they catch you by surprise? It shouldn’t have! The forces of darkness stand perpetually opposed to anyone serving the Light. The only unknown is how you will respond.

Throughout the Bible, when God did a fresh work in people’s lives, He often changed their name. Names were a reflection of the person’s character. When someone’s character changed, they required a name that was more suitable to who they were presently. In Gideon’s case, it was his own father who recognized that his son had changed dramatically. After Gideon’s encounter with God, he was no longer behaving as a timid, fearful, younger son. He had become a mighty man of valor, just as God had promised! (Judges 6:12).

Our world will never be transformed if we remain the same people we have always been. When was the last time your character and style of leadership was dramatically altered? When was the last time people commented on the transformation they had witnessed in you? Have you grown stale? Are you stuck in a rut? Do you need a fresh encounter with almighty God?

It is one thing for us to declare that we are growing in our relationship with God. It is quite another for people around us to be commenting on the dramatic changes they have personally witnessed in us. We serve the Creator. He delights in changing us for the better! Let Him!

It may surprise you what happens when you take a stand for God. Some people will disappoint you by their opposition. But others might just step up their own faith as a result of what they witness in you.

Gideon’s own father had succumbed to the pressures in his society. He had constructed a prominent altar to Baal on his property as well as a graven image. He had sold out. His home was a testimony to idolatry rather than to godliness. Perhaps Joash felt the pressure to please his neighbors if he was to achieve business success. Maybe he cared more about what his neighbors thought than what God thought. Yet surprisingly, when his young son took a courageous stand for God, rather than becoming upset, the wayward father was emboldened to defend his son and take a stand for righteousness.

Joash mocked the idol he had been worshiping, claiming it ought to be able to defend its own reputation. Clearly Joash had become disillusioned with the empty promises of his idol. All he needed was the inspiration of someone having the courage to point out the impotence of the prevailing religion. Once Gideon had the courage to take a stand for God, his family began to follow suit.

Who might be encouraged to trust God if only they could witness you doing so first?

Despite reams of biblical and historical precedent, we are still caught by surprise when our life becomes more difficult after we have obeyed what God told us.

The day after Gideon obeyed God’s word, his life’s circumstances seemed to become the worst they had ever been. People had never wanted to KILL him before! He had never been the subject argued about among angry mobs before! If God had really wanted Gideon to tear down an idolatrous idol, why had He allowed his life to be endangered as a result?

There may be times when you will ask the same question as Gideon. You may have tried to do what you sensed God was commanding. Only instead of people appreciating your effort to do good, enemies arose who began to angrily oppose you. Instead of life becoming better, it grew palpably worse.

Don’t be surprised if when you obey what God said, people rise up to oppose you. The forces of evil did that to Jesus, and they have done that to Jesus’ followers ever since. Just because people are opposing your efforts does not necessarily mean you are out of God’s will! It may indicate God has moved you directly into enemy territory.