In our day, when a lot of people are worried about staying safe, Mark Moring from Elburn, Illinois, has some suggestions:
1st, Avoid riding in automobiles because they are responsible for 20 percent of all fatal accidents.
2nd, Do not stay home because 17 percent of all accidents occur in the home.
3rd, Avoid walking on streets or sidewalks because 14 percent of all accidents occur to pedestrians.
4th, Avoid traveling by air, rail, or water because 16 percent of all accidents involve these forms of transportation.
5th, Of the remaining 33 percent, 32 percent of all deaths occur in hospitals. Above all else, avoid hospitals.
Mark says, “You will be pleased to learn that only .001 percent of all deaths occur in worship services in church, and these are usually related to previous physical disorders. Therefore, logic tells us that the safest place for you to be at any given point in time is at church! Bible study is safe, too. The percentage of deaths during Bible study is even less. So, for safety sake, attend church and read your Bible… it could save your life!” (www.PreachingToday.com)
Perhaps, but it could definitely save you from needless worry. These are scary times for a lot of people, but YOU don’t need to live in fear. YOU don’t need to be consumed with worry. YOU don’t need to let anxiety control your life.
“How?” You ask. How can I live life these days without fear or worry? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Judges 6, Judges 6, where we see how God changed a coward into a man with great courage.
Judges 6:1-6 The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the LORD. (ESV)
The Israelites are hiding in caves, because they’re afraid of the Midianite raiders, who steal all their crops. Well, after seven years of this, Israel cries out to the Lord.
Judges 6:7-10 When the people of Israel cried out to the LORD on account of the Midianites, the LORD sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. And I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.” (ESV)
When Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord at first sends a prophet to let them know why the Midianites have laid them low. It’s because Israel has turned away from the Lord to serve the Amorite gods.
You see, when God disciplines His people, He makes it very clear why they’re suffering. You never have to wonder if you’re under God’s discipline. He’ll make that very clear to you. That’s why God first sends a prophet to Israel. Then He sends a savior.
Judges 6:11 Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. (ESV)
Like everybody else in Israel, Gideon is a coward. He’s threshing wheat, hidden in a wine press, so the Midianites don’t see him. Normally, people in Bible days would thresh wheat out in the open, so the wind could blow the chaff away. Gideon is threshing wheat in a hole in the ground, because he’s afraid of the Midianite raiders.
Judges 6:12 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” (ESV)
Now, that’s funny, because Gideon is anything but a “Mighty man of valor.” However, God will turn this coward into a courageous soldier.
Watch what God does for Gideon even as Gideon questions God. He doubts God.
Judges 6:13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” (ESV)
Gideon questions God’s presence – “IF the Lord is with us.” Gideon questions God’s power – “Where are all His wonderful deeds,” and Gideon questions Gods love – “Now the Lord has forsaken us.” Gideon lacks faith, but God will begin to grow his faith first by giving Gideon His Word.
Judges 6:14-16 And the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” And the LORD said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” (ESV)
It doesn’t matter who you are, God says. It only matters that I am with you. God assures Gideon with the promise of His presence, power and love. But God’s Word is not enough for Gideon. He needs a sign.
Judges 6:17-21 And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.” So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” And he did so. Then the angel of the LORD reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. (ESV)
1st, God gives Gideon His Word. 2nd, God gives Gideon a sign, and Gideon finally begins to believe! He begins to fear and worship the Lord.
Judges 6:22-24 Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the LORD. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.” But the LORD said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and called it, The LORD Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites. (ESV)
Gideon experiences God’s peace. He experiences a sense of well-being even in scary times. Gideon was a coward, who questioned God. Now, he has a growing confidence in the Lord.
Judges 6:25-27 That night the LORD said to him, “Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night. (ESV)
Gideon is still afraid, but he does what God asks Him to do. His faith is weak, but God honors that faith.
Judges 6:28-32 When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. And they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And after they had searched and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.” But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.” Therefore on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar. (ESV)
Gideon’s father affirms him, so Gideon’s courage grows even more. After tearing down his father’s idols, he gathers an army together to fight the Midianite raiders.
Judges 6:33-34 Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. But the Spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him. (ESV)
Having God’s Word, God’s sign, and now God’s Spirit, Gideon finds the courage to go after the Midianites. Even so, he has some lingering doubts.
Judges 6:35-40 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. And he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them. Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew. (ESV)
Gideon is NOT trying to determine God’s will here. God made that very clear in verse 14: “Go and save Israel from the hand of Midian.” No. Gideon is NOT trying to determine God’s will with the fleece. He just needs God’s assurance. Gideon’s faith is still weak, but God honors that faith and gives him the sign for which he asks.
As a result, Gideon finds the courage to face the enemy. He becomes that “mighty man of valor” God called Him to be.
Judges 7:1 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley (ESV) – just 3 or 4 miles away.
As Gideon’s confidence in the Lord grows, His courage grows, as well. Gideon’s faith removes his fear, and your faith can do the same for you. In these scary times, you don’t need to live in fear anymore; you don’t need to let anxiety control your life. Just...
BELIEVE GOD AND FACE ADVERSITY WITH COURAGE.
Depend on the Lord and face hardship with His peace. Trust God and face hard times with boldness.
You see, God has already given you His Word. God has given you many signs of His faithfulness over the years, and God has given you His Spirit as a follower of Christ, so there is no reason for you not to believe in Him.
However, if your faith is weak ask God to reassure you like Gideon did. ask God to restore your confidence in Him, and He will! God does not condemn you for having doubts. On the contrary, He will give you whatever you need to trust Him just like He did for Gideon.
All you have to do is ask. James 1 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5). Now, that “wisdom” is described later in the book of James as that which is “peaceable” – i.e., free from anxiety and inner turmoil (James 3:17). Do you need that kind of reassurance? Then ask God for it, and He will give it to you generously.
Brother Lawrence, a 17th Century monk, put it this way: “When we are in doubt, God will never fail to give light when we have no other plan than to please him and to act in love for him” (Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God).
Now, God will not dump a great load of faith and courage on you all at once. Rather, He will gradually increase your faith as you take small steps of obedience to Him. Gideon’s first step of faith was to strike down his father’s idols. As a result, God eventually gave Gideon the faith to strike down the vast Midianite army.
In an interview for Harvard Business Review, the interviewer asked Maya Angelou, the poet, about the most important lessons she learned from her mother. Ms. Angelou said:
“I would say she encouraged me to develop courage. And she taught me by being courageous herself. And after years of leaving her and, I think, becoming courageous, I realized that one isn't born with courage. One develops it.
“And you develop it by doing small, courageous things, in the same way that one wouldn't set out to pick up 100 pound bag of rice. If that was one's aim, the person would be advised to pick up a five pound bag, and then a ten pound, and then a 20 pound, and so forth, until one builds up enough muscle to actually pick up 100 pounds. And that's the same way with courage.
“You develop courage by doing courageous things, small things, but things that cost you some exertion – mental and, I suppose, spiritual exertion.” (“Maya Angelou on Courage and Creativity,” Harvard Business Review, 5-29-13; www.Preaching Today.com)
Great faith and courage start with small steps of faith and courage. So take that first step. By faith, do the small thing God has placed before you today. Make that phone call. Attend that first recovery group meeting. Give a cup of cold water to your enemy. Just start small, and watch God grow your faith to do the big things He calls you to do. Believe God and face adversity with courage. More than that...
BELIEVE GOD AND FACE THE ADVERSARY WITH CONFIDENCE.
Depend on the Lord and face the enemy with the assurance of victory. Trust God and face the foe with the certainty of success.
That’s what Gideon did. In dependence upon God, He defeated the vast Midianite army. Gideon did not depend on his army, because God wouldn’t let him.
Judges 7:2-3 The LORD said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’ ” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained. (ESV)
Out of 32,000 soldiers, 22,000 left because they were afraid.
Judges 7:4-8 And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.” So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. (ESV)
Most commentators say that these 300 men were MORE watchful than the rest, that they drank water with their eyes alert to any possible attack. However, Josephus, a 1st Century Jewish historian suggests that these 300 men were LESS watchful, which further demonstrates God’s power (F. D. Lindsey, Bible Knowledge Commentary). Whatever the case, God assures Gideon again that He will defeat the vast Midianite Army, which we later learn had 135,000 soldiers (Judges 8:10).
Judges 7:9-14 That same night the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.” (ESV)
Barley bread aptly describes the poverty-stricken Israelites, which topples the Midianite army tents. This is how the Midianite soldier understood the dream, and he is scared, but Gideon is encouraged.
Judges 7:15-18 As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand.” And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars. And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon.’” (ESV)
Gideon acknowledges that God will give them the victory and announces a plan to scare the Midianites with light and noise.
Judges 7:19-23 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. When they blew the 300 trumpets, the LORD set every man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian. (ESV)
At 10 p.m., when the Midianites rotate their guards, Gideon’s men blow their ram’s horns, smash their clay jars, which uncovers their torches. It throws the Midianite army into a state of panic as they imagine a much larger force against them, no doubt mistaking their own rotating guards for Israelite soldiers. The Midianite solders end up fighting each other, after which they flee the field of battle with the Israelite army in hot pursuit.
The rest of the chapter, on into the next, details that pursuit, which ends in the death of 120,000 Midianite soldiers and two Midianite kings. God gave Gideon a great victory that day, because he depended on the Lord!
And God can do the same for you! Just depend on Him. Trust God and face the adversary with confidence, because it’s not about how big and strong YOU are; it’s about how big and strong GOD is!
During and after the Balkan wars in 1991, about 2,500 people in Croatia died from land mine explosions. That’s because the competing armies placed 90,000 land mines across the entire country, mostly at random and without any plan or existing maps. Until just a few years ago (2013), 466 square miles were still filled with mines from the wars.
Then Zagreb University in Croatia began pioneering a multimillion-dollar program they called “Tiramisu.” They used honeybees, which have a perfect sense of smell that can quickly detect the scent of the explosives. The researchers trained honeybees to identify their food with the scent of TNT by lacing their food with traces of TNT. The bees learned to seek out food only with that specific smell, so when they were released into the minefields, they went straight to the mines.
Now, there are many animals with the ability to smell and identify TNT. Dogs have been used for years, but dogs weigh enough to detonate the mines. Honeybees do not. They are the perfect bomb-proof sniffers. (Dustin Stojanovic and Darko Bandic, “Honeybees trained in Croatia to find land mines,” Associated Press, 5-19-13; www.PreachingToday.com)
You don’t have to be big and strong for God to use you, just willing to depend on Him. In fact, God’s power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9), so don’t be afraid any longer!
Just believe God and face adversity with courage. Believe God and face the adversary with confidence. Then, after you’ve won a few victories, continue to...
BELIEVE GOD AND FACE ACHIEVEMENT WITOUT CONCEIT.
Continue to depend on the Lord and face success without pride. Continue to trust God and face victory without arrogance.
That’s what Gideon failed to do. After Gideon’s great victory against the Midianites, the men of Israel want to reward him.
Judges 8:22-23 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you.” (ESV)
Good answer so far. Gideon refuses to be king, because God is king!
Judges 8:24-28 And Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you: every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) And they answered, “We will willingly give them.” And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil. And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that were around the necks of their camels. And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family. So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they raised their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon. (ESV)
Gideon refuses to be king, but he usurps the position of High priest, creating a priestly garment (Exodus 28:6; 39:1-5), a golden ephod, which weighed 43 pounds! He also may have established a rival worship center to that of the tabernacle, where God chose to reveal His presence.
Judges 8:29-32 Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives. And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech. And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, at Ophrah of the Abiezrites. (ESV)
Even though Gideon refused to be king, he lived like a king with his many wives who bore him 70 sons and his concubine who bore him 1 son. Gideon sets himself up as high priest and lives like a king, to the detriment of all Israel. Even though they experienced 40 years of peace, Gideon’s actions lead them into their next round of idolatry and defeat.
Judges 8:33-35 As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god. And the people of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side, and they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel. (ESV)
They turn against the Lord and Gideon’s family. As a result, they experience no more peace for several hundred years. The 40 years of rest mentioned in verse 28 is the last time of rest for Israel in the book of Judges.
Gideon started so well but ended so badly. That’s because he stopped depending on the Lord. His victory over the Midianites went to His head, and he forgot who gave him that victory.
Please, don’t do what Gideon did. Don’t stop depending on the Lord even after a few victories, lest you fall like Gideon did.
I’ve seen this too many times with people in recovery from addiction. God gives them some great victories after which they become self-confident, not God-confident; they stop depending on the Lord and they soon relapse. Please, don’t do that to yourself. Continue to rely on the Lord and save yourself from the pitfalls of pride.
Vic Pentz put it this way in Leadership magazine: “Nothing fails quite so totally as success without God (Vic Pentz, Leadership, Vol. 10, no. 4; www.PreachingToday.com)
Or as the Bible says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).
In the movie The Avengers, Thor's evil brother, Loki, gains access to the unlimited power of an energy cube. So Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D., recruits a band of Marvel characters to stop the unprecedented threat to earth. Those characters include Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Widow. It’s a great movie for those who appreciate the old Marvel comic book characters like I do.
In one particular scene, Loki has an encounter with the Hulk. Take a look (show video: Avengers Puny God scene).
As the Hulk blasts through a window, he intentionally crashes into Loki, slamming him against a wall. As Loki scrambles to his feet, the Hulk begins to advance toward him.
“Enough!” shouts Loki. “You are all beneath me,” he defiantly proclaims. "I am a god, you dull creature, and I will not be bullied by …"
Suddenly, while he is still speaking, the Hulk snatches Loki by the ankle and slams him on the floor five times.
As Loki lies on the floor, barely able to breath, his eyes fixed upward as if to say what just happened?, the Hulk walks away, looking back over his shoulder. The Hulk scowls as he says, "Puny god." (The Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon, 2012, Hollywood, CA: Paramount, 1:59:56 – 2:00:28 ; www.PreachingToday.com)
When you make yourself out to be a god, you’re nothing but a “puny god,” who is easily brought down. The fact is there is only one God, and all of us need Him! So stop trying to run your world yourself and relinquish control to Him.
That’s especially important after God gives you a few victories. Please, don’t forget who gave you those victories and keep depending on Him; keep trusting the Lord.
Believe God and face adversity with courage. Believe God and face the adversary with confidence. Believe God and face achievement without conceit. 1 John 5:4 says, “This is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” So during these difficult days, don’t lose your faith in Christ. Keep on trusting and He will keep you from falling.
