Great mysteries abound when it comes to the things of God. A spectacular mystery is the apparent truth that God uses the least likely and yet the most available person to actively become a part of His work of salvation and deliverance. We see this over and over in scripture. The least becomes the greatest—whether it’s a mustard seed, yeast or a human being—when someone becomes available to God it is amazing how God responds with graciously using the life given to Him. Over and over again in the Bible from Moses to Onesimus there are those who God gets a hold of and whose life is never the same.
And it’s not just an individual who is touched but sometimes whole nations are taken to a new place. Gideon is one more such story for us. Here is a frightened young man in a winepress who moves from denial to dedication and from doubt to deliverance. With one conversation Gideon is moved from the depths of a despairing life in a winepress into the very presence of God Himself. With one conversation Gideon is taken from the safety of the same old routine and set on a road leading to deliverance for himself and his nation.
Gideon is renamed by this angel who appears. He is a “mighty man of valor” one translations says. Yet, Gideon is down in a winepress trying to separate the wheat without drawing the Midianites attention. As such he appears as anything but a “mighty man of valor”.
A second step to Gideon’s transformation is his getting rid of the idols he had been worshipping. We didn’t read this part of the story so let me summarize. Gideon goes and makes a meal for the angel. He brings it back and the angel touches his staff to it and it’s burned up like a sacrifice. Gideon now knows he’s seen God.
God tells Gideon to take his father’s bull and tear down his own father’s idol to Baal as well as cut down the Asheroth pole. He does this at night because he’s afraid of what others may say. And sure enough the next morning the town people want Gideon dead. In spite of the fact that it was a family as well as community altar Gideon’s father sticks up for him.
After this Gideon was prepared to take the third step which was to rely on God’s ROE (rules of engagement) rather than his own plan. God’s plan was to make it so utterly impossible to beat the enemy that when it happened the only conclusion anyone could have was that God had done it. In this way Gideon is not only used to “save” his family but to “save” Israel as well.
Personal Application:
It seems that this same three step process is at work today. We become a part of God’s saving work in our world when we are able to recognize God’s calling in our life. We’ve talked about seeing God for a few weeks now and perhaps you’ve had a little more luck hearing our Lord’s voice directing you in different ways.
Let me add that when God calls us and “names” us, (like he did Gideon, Israel, and Peter) He gives us a name that calls forth His best in us. Our calling will be based on the Spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit has given to us and called us to use. When God calls Gideon a “mighty man of valor” or Christ names Peter, “Rock” these two become those names. Likewise when God calls us “beloved daughter”; “honored son”; “Faithful Mother”; “Strong Father”; “Saved”; “Alive”; “Renewed in Christ” or whatever other name we might imagine He is calling us to live out that name.
Let me quickly explain that we don’t understand the “names” that God has called forth in us because we don’t spend time listening to God’s word and secondly because we’re too eager to adopt the names that the world tosses at us. Many of the “names” we call ourselves are not in line at all with God’s wishes for us but they’ve become so comfortable that “loser”; “martyr”; “no good”; “stupid” and the like have become bearable because we know where in life we fit in. Our first step then is to answer to the names God has called forth in us.
When we have answered to our “God given” title we will discover we get to live out the characteristic of that name. Gideon, the “mighty man of valor” is given the task of tearing down the idols in his life. Likewise we will be called forth to change and be changed in our life as well. Let’s look at how a couple of these might play out. If someone becomes convinced that God’s calling them with the title, “Faithful Mother” then perhaps God’s next direction will be to tear up those idols that keep them from being faithful. Perhaps it’s an idol of selfishness which wants everything for themselves. Likewise if we sense Christ calling us “One who stands firm for Jesus” we may face the idolatry that goes along with doing whatever everyone else is doing. The person named by God as “beloved” will be challenged to cut down the idols of self-pity and defeatist attitudes. Do you see how this may work?
Whatever our names I’m comfortable in saying that there will be idols that we need to face if we are going to continue being available to Jesus. Since I doubt any of us have a statue in our living room to which we burn incense let me give you a quick definition of what an idol is. An idol is anything, anyone, or any activity that we’d place on an equal footing or ahead of Jesus. If you have to choose between following Jesus and being with that special someone you love you are wrestling with idolatry. If Jesus told you to vote for the opposition party and you balk at it you are wrestling with the issue of idolatry. If Christ has the freedom to do whatever He wants in your life as long he doesn’t make you tithe, or remember the church in your will then this has become an area of idolatry for you.
Gideon asks the angel “Why has this happened?” and the answer is as clear as the altar to Baal and Asheroth pole. It’s because the nation has not remained faithful to God. We give Job’s friends a bad rap for blaming Job’s problems on some hidden sin but the fact is that sin does bring calamity and what’s worse it removes us from the place in which we can be blessed by God. This is what happened to Israel.
When we recognize God’s call to us but refuse to deal with the sins and idols in our lives we find that we are actually worse off. For now we know what we should be like. We understand what God wants to do in our life. We get a taste of the blessing of God in our life. And all of this comes to naught when we try to live out that name holding on to our sins.
As we tear up the idols understand that we will be misunderstood and often hated. When we deny the “name” the world has given us in favor of Christ’s name there will be those who want to put us in our place. We will be accused of being intolerant and haters. We will be thought of as uncaring people. We may well be treated as if we’ve lost our mind. Yet if we tear up those sins in our lives that have made us unreceptive to God’s voice we will find ourselves in the place where we are able to be used by our Lord in marvelous ways.
In the Academy Award winning film Chariots of Fire there is a telling scene in which Eric Liddle, a Christian who refuses to run an Olympic race on Sunday, meets with members of the British Olympic committee. During this meeting one of the British “gentlemen” says to Eric, “In my day it was King first then God.” To which Eric responds, “Yes, and you have your Great War to thank for that.” Here was a man who had heard God’s call to run and run fast and had made it clear in his mind and to others that he was not going to run on the Sabbath. As a result he’s placed in a race that he’s not ready for but wins anyway. Why? Simply because he is willing to go along with God’s plan instead of the world’s plan.
God’s plan for Gideon consisted of taking an army of 32,000 down to less than 1% of that total (300) men. Why? So that God would get the glory and the people wouldn’t think they were so great. Now there is no way that I can tell you what God’s plan for you is as you live out your calling but I can tell you a couple of things I’ve learned from God’s word and from my years of following Jesus. First it will bring glory to God and not you. If you start thinking “you did that well” then you’re probably off target. Second it will be a surprise at how God manages to do what He does. The unexpected and unlooked are the norm for our Lord.
Take a look at this table if you don’t believe me. Who would have thought that a simple meal could be used to remind us of something as horrible as a crucifixion and in turn it could be used to nourish our faith, trust and reliance on Christ? But here it is.
God’s plan will win out; but God has limited how He operates within our world. It is a testimony to the respect God holds for us He chooses to involve us the day-to-day work of telling others about Christ. What’s more, He has allowed this desire that people know about Jesus to rest squarely on the shoulders of us who do know Him. If we wish to be available to God we will find that He has great plans in store for us. If we remain hiding in the wine presses of our world we’ll miss out on all the glorious experiences that Jesus desires to see come about in our lives.
