http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges%208-9&version=NIV
JUDGES 6 - 7
"Will God ever ask you to do something you are not able to do? The answer is yes--all the time! It must be that way, for God's glory and kingdom. If we function according to our ability alone, we get the glory; if we function according to the power of the Spirit within us, God gets the glory. He wants to reveal Himself to a watching world." - Henry T. Blackaby
In today’s passage we are introduced to Gideon, an ordinary man whom God has chosen to do extraordinary things. For seven years God allowed the children of Israel to be subjected to foreign domination because of their unfaithfulness towards Him. Yet in His timing God chose Gideon to deliver the children of Israel from their oppressors.
Two things strike me about Gideon’s encounter with the Lord. First, Gideon is blessed to actually see God who comes in the form of the angel of the Lord. This physical manifestation of the Lord (theophany) occurs multiple times in the Old Testament, most notably in Genesis 18. Second, the Lord is exceedingly patient with Gideon’s meager faith. Instead of responding to God with a simple “Yes, Lord!” Gideon needs assurance upon assurance that God is who He says He is and that He will do what He promises to do. When the time comes for Gideon to wage battle, God commands that only a tiny band of 300 engage against the many thousands of Midianites. The message is clear: Gideon and his 300 men could not defeat such a sizable enemy without the providence of God.
Has God ever asked you to do something you are not able to do? If He hasn’t yet, believe me, He will! These challenges are part of His design to strengthen our faith and develop true reliance upon Him. In the end when the challenge is met, we reap the benefits and God gets the glory. What a blessedly good deal for us!
Rock on.
Chad
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"If He hasn’t yet, believe me, He will!" I had to laugh when I read that. Something I thought should be so easy turns out to be utterly impossible without His help. "To love your neighbor as yourself" Hellppp Lord!
ReplyDeleteChapter 9 reminds me of something I see in Dr. Young. Gideon is the warrior of God except in one area of his life: his own home. Now we read about Gideon's own son rising up to kill his seventy brothers. The spiritual example is clear. People can be used by the Lord to perform some wonderful works of faith yet their own house isn’t in order. We can go out and serve the Lord yet neglect the ministry we should be doing at home. You hear this all the time, “The preachers’ kids are the worst behaved”. We must not disconnect the service of God toward others and the service of God in our family life. Speaking from experience, it seemed so much easier to do the work of God outside the home instead of inside the home. This is a real trap for the preachers.
This is what I appreciate about Dr. Young. We see first hand the example of a preacher who didn’t neglect his family life while doing the work of the Lord. Dr. Young did both! We can see the fruits of his labor in his sons and the fruits of his labor at 2nd. This is a real blessing and example for me to follow.