What does it take to do the work God has called us to do and finish it?
Take a look at Gideon. He was called by God for a special purpose at a special time.
• God heard the cries of the people, and He wanted to save them from their enemies. He needs a man to do the job.
• Gideon needs to overcome a few things before he can do the job.
First, we need to overcome discouragement.
• How do we know he was discouraged? He was threshing wheat in an old winepress, hiding from the enemies.
• The people of Israel were oppressed. They were starving because the Midianites kept destroying their cattle and crops.
• Gideon has given up hope in God; the people have been suffering for 7 years now, in very difficult circumstances.
• He was too weak to do anything, being the least in his family, and his clan being the weakest in the tribe (Manasseh).
He was depressed. But the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior’” (Judges 6:12).
• I believe he was tempted to laugh out loud.
• Why ‘Mighty warrior’? He was a scared young man hiding out in a wine press.
• But then, God always sees us in a different light than we see ourselves.
• We see our inadequacies and failures, and use them as an excuse. God sees our potential and what we can do through Him.
• The Lord once said to prophet Zechariah, “Don’t despise the day of small things.” (Zech 4:10)
Gideon’s discouragement comes pouring out.
• He says to the Lord’s messenger, “But sir, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian” (Judges 6:13).
• The angel does not argue with him, but says, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
• God promises to be with him, as He does with us.
Gideon was filled with thoughts about his own inadequacy.
• He says, “But Lord, how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” The Lord simply answered, “I will be with you” (Judges 6:14-16).
• People are discouraged today because they look at themselves and their situation.
• We tend to look at our inadequacies.
• The answer to it is to know that God is with you and His presence makes up for your inadequacies.
You don’t have to do it in your own power, or by your own ability. God knows that too.
• But you can do it with Him. The Lord answered him, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.”
• Prophet Isaiah says (in Isa 40:29-31), “God gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
But Gideon was not sure about this, even though the angel of the Lord was standing right in front of him.
• Who says when a man sees a miracle, he will believe God? Even with an angel standing before him, Gideon finds it hard to trust God.
• We, like Gideon, not only have to overcome discouragement, we have to overcome doubt.
Gideon says to the angel of the Lord who is standing right in front of him: “Give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.” Read verses 17-22.
• So Gideon prepared an offering to the Lord, and as a sign, the angel of the Lord touched the offering with his staff, and fire flamed from the rock and consumed the offering. And the angel disappeared from his sight.
• Wow, that should have been good enough for anybody. But it still was not good enough for Gideon.
Later on, he asked God for another sign.
• When the Midianites encamped against Israel, Gideon gathered the men from all the towns of Israel to come and protect the land.
• Judges 6:36-38 “Gideon said to God, ‘If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised — look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.’ And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew — a bowlful of water”
Gideon asked for a specific sign and God gave it to him. What more could you ask.
• But Gideon did not stop there. See Judges 6:39-40.
“39Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew." 40That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.”
Gideon finally decides to trust God and do what the Lord has been telling him to do.
• It is interesting that people like to take this as an example of what they should do when faced with a dilemma — put out a fleece — as though it is a biblical principle.
• Putting out a fleece was actually a lack of faith on Gideon’s part.
• He had already been given clear direction by the Lord, and he had received a miraculous sign.
• But that is not enough, and he wants more proof. Actually, there is never enough proof where there is no faith.
• In order words, if you have no faith, even with an angel standing before you will not cause you to trust God.
• The people of Israel left Egypt seeing many miracles, but that did not stop them from doubting God just a few weeks after.
Having faith is important to God, for the Bible says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6).
Gideon needs to overcome discouragement, overcome doubt and finally, he needs to overcome obstacles.
• There will always be challenges when we serve God. God’s purpose for your life involves making sacrifices.
• The disciples died to bring the Gospel to the ends of the world.
• There will be obstacles, and some of these will be God testing your faith so it can grow.
That was the case with Gideon.
• And as he looked at the enemy, here is what he saw: “The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore” (Judges 7:12).
• He was greatly outnumbered. But then God told him something that might have shocked him.
• 7:2 “You have too many men…”
God directed Gideon to tell his men that if any of them are afraid to fight, they may return home.
• With that, 22,000 men left, and only 10,000 men remain to fight.
• But then the Scripture says, “But the Lord said to Gideon, ‘There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, “This one shall go with you,” he shall go; but if I say, “This one shall not go with you,” he shall not go’” (Judges 7:4).
• Then, as the men went down to the water to drink, 300 of them lapped the water with their tongues while the rest knelt to drink.
• And the Lord said, “With 300 men I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go.”
This was a new challenge for Gideon.
• Firstly he did not expect himself to be leading an army to fight. He is the youngest, in a family belonging to the smallest clan.
• And then when he obeyed God and gathered over 30,000 men, greatly outnumbered and little hope of winning the war – God cut it down to 300.
• God is about to show him what it means to trust Him and see His mighty works.
• When we say ‘YES’ to serving God, it does not mean everything will be smooth and simple. But it does mean that we are going to see God working through us to accomplish His amazing purposes.
God was about to introduce unconventional warfare to Gideon.
• The Lord directed him to have his little band of men go to the edge of the enemy’s camp at night.
• He gave each man a ram’s horn trumpet and a clay jar. The men were to take a torch and place it inside the jar.
• At Gideon’s signal they were to break the jar to reveal the fire, blow their trumpets and shout, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” (7:18)
• And then God caused a panic in the enemy camp, and those who came to fight against Israel began to fight each other.
• Those who did not die in the battle fled back to the country from where they had come.
• They never threatened Israel again during the lifetime of Gideon.
In the Scriptures, we’ve seen God helping Israel fight and win many battles.
• None of them is the same. God has not used the same method twice.
• We need to trust God today. God will help us overcome in His own ways.
• Even if the odds are against us, God’s purpose will be fulfilled if we trust Him.
If you are going to be faithful to His call and finish the task God has called you to do in your generation, then you have to overcome discouragement, doubt and challenges.
• Don’t look at the situation, look to God.
• Don’t look at yourself, trust God
• Don’t look at the obstacles; overcome them by the strength God gives you.
