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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.

One thing is clear: when you obey what God tells you, the people around you will soon feel the impact. Gideon had spent his entire life in the same small community. Everyone knew him. Yet to that point, his life had made no difference on his community. But once he heard from God, and obeyed, everyone was talking about him the next morning!

God word is like that. It is never intended solely for us. God’s word always has repercussions. When a community is filled with God-fearing, and God obeying people, their neighborhoods, and nation, will be transformed. Places of evil will come tumbling down. Centers of righteousness will be constructed. The oppressed will be set free and evildoers will be put to flight.

What strongholds of evil in your community and nation need to be torn down? Is God speaking to YOU about them? Does God want your life to make a difference in challenging the idolatry in your land? How are you responding?

The kingdom of God is continually advancing. It is capturing the hearts of former rebels. It is bringing down spiritual strongholds. And it is occupying enemy territory, to the glory of the King.

The first battle assigned to Gideon was not to rout the Midianites, but to displace ungodly practices and shrines in his own family home. Biblically, if a leader did not have God ruling over his own family, then they were disqualified from leading God’s people. Leaders always begin their work at home.

God instructed Gideon to replace the altar of Baal with an altar to God. Now, instead of seeing the pagan monument, people would gaze upon a holy place constructed for the glory of the true God. God is systematically seeking to replace monuments devoted to sin and evil with holy shrines that testify to His glory. Whether it is in your home, your neighborhood, your church, or your workplace, God is seeking to reclaim territory that was once lost to the powers of darkness.

Have you built altars around your life and work, where God has used you to win victories for His kingdom? Or is your life currently surrounded by altars to Baal?