There’s a Gideon in all of us

In Judges, chapter 6: 11-18, we find a man named Gideon.  God called him to be a mighty warrior. Yet, he was full of contradistinction. In chapter 6, we see him  leading a handful of warriors and in charge of a great army.  On the other hand, we see Gideon experiencing fears, doubts and making all kinds of excuses.

God called Gideon to be a Judge during a time when Israel felt hopeless. The nation was in trouble and going through trouble times and they literally thought that their lives would be destroyed.  And when Israel cried out to God,  they didn’t really believe that God would get them out of the situation they were in.

Even though it was over 200 years, since God saved and led Israel into the Promise Land.  Two thousand years later, Christians remember the departing of the Red Sea. God is still doing miracles today! God sent an angel to encourage Gideon and told him that “God would be with thee.”

Even today, we are also living in difficult times. We are living in days where we don’t know whether or not we’ll have health care that we all can afford.  There is an economic insecurity that has many people fearing that they will be forced into poverty. Our society has turned a deaf ear and become  increasingly resentful to the things of the Lord.

When God looks at us, he doesn’t see what we or others see.  He see’s way beyond what we see in ourselves.  Gideon didn’t see himself as a warrior, but God did. In 1 Samuel 16:12, we find David a small boy and in the eyes of Jesse, all he saw was a lad not worthy of being anything but a shepherd boy.  But God saw a king.  When God saw Moses, he didn’t see a man who stuttered. He saw a deliver. When God see that your spirit has been broken, God already see’s mended.

Sometimes we allow our inabilities keep us from serving where God wants us to serve. When God calls you to do a task, He will do what He needs to do in you, in order to mold you into what He wants you to be or for the assignment he has for you.

What excuses are you giving to the Lord? God is calling you to do His Will and purposes in you. All we have to do is found in Romans 12:1-2, (NLT) “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

We can’t do nothing in ourselves, but we must believe that Jesus can do anything through us.  Philippians 4:13 reminds us, “We can do all things through Christ, which strengthens us.” Once you come to that place where you believe and trust that God is able, even if we are not, God will use you for His service!

Serving the Lord With Gladness,

Deacon Terri McFarlane