Author: admin

Right when we feel as if our life is in a place to bring honor to God, He will take us still further! We like to glorify God, but safely! We are fully prepared to win easy battles for God from safe distances. We take small risks. We take furtive steps. But then God goes far beyond what we would have ever dreamed!

Gideon was taking a huge risk by taking on an army that had terrorized his nation for seven years. His initial army of 32,000 men, though not huge, was at least respectable. But God had removed 22,000 of them! Interestingly, we do not hear of Gideon complaining. Apparently having had God confirm His word through the fleece, we do not hear of Gideon questioning God again, even when he is told to make some highly unusual decisions.

But as if it was not enough to reduce his army from 32,000 to 10,000, God declared that Gideon still had too many soldiers! Facing odds of over 10-1 as it was, Gideon might have begged to differ! Gideon might have announced that, “enough was enough!” But he did not. When God further reduced Gideon’s resources, Gideon complied. By this time he must have realized that when you do things God’s way, you ultimately experience a miracle.

There are many noble qualities God looks for and develops in His servants, but one of the most important and prized is that of courage.

People who are satisfied with the status quo do not require courage. Those willing to change their world, need it by the bucketful. The first standard by which God selected his choice servants was to choose those with courage. Even if two thirds of the army was sent packing, it was far better to have a small courageous army than a large timid one.

Don’t assume that if you are experiencing fear or discomfort you must not be in God’s will. It is just like God to bring you to the edge of yourself! He will put your life in a situation where you must demonstrate faith, and have courage. In that moment, you will either gather your courage and advance with God, or you will gather your belongings and return home before the battle.

How is your life demonstrating courage today?

We tend to quickly take the credit for anything good in our life. We also have a bad habit of blaming God, or others, for anything negative. God knows this.

That’s why when God was preparing to miraculously deliver His people from their enemies He went to great lengths to ensure that they knew He was the author of their rescue.

Make no mistake. God can just as easily deliver you with an army of ten as an army of 100,000. It makes no difference to Him, except that, a smaller army brings God greater glory.

Our tendency is to strive to gather the largest army possible and then claim at least partial credit for its success. That is why God will inevitably bring us to a position where we cannot trust in ourselves or in our resources, but in Him. He will strip away everything in our life that clamors for our trust. God does not need our resources to do a great work. What He is looking for is our faith. When we have plentiful supplies, we tend to assume that faith is not absolutely necessary. When we have few resources, we have nothing else but our faith.

Could it be that in recent days God has been stripping away from your life the resources you have been trusting in that are weakening your faith in Him?

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.