The title of this message is from the yet-to-be released book by Pat Williams (Senior Vice President of the Orlando Magic), Jay Strack (Founder of Student Leadership University), and Jim Denney.
In an advance synopsis of the book the authors say that Shamgar’s brief notoriety in the Bible lends itself to three success secrets.
1. Start where you are.
2. Use what you have.
3. Do what you can.
We’ll take a closer look at these three success secrets during the course of this message. But first, let’s review the background to the story.
The time period covered in the Book of Judges was intended to be an era of advancement for God’s people. By this time they should have been fully enjoying the Promised Land but their inconsistency in obeying God and their imitation of the idolatrous culture around them led to failure.
Enter Shamgar.
This last verse of Judges chapter 3 and a few verses in chapter 5 comprise the sum total of his biblical biography.
Judges 3:31 - "After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an ox goad. He too saved Israel."
Last time we considered Ehud, a valiant left-handed judge who led the people to victory against the Moabites. Israel’s peace with the Moabites then lasted for 80 years.
But the Israelites had more than one enemy. It would be nice in life if there were only one problem at a time to solve but that isn’t normally the case.
The Philistines were Israel’s enemy too. They would frequently invade and plunder Israel.
Judges 5:6 describes the lack of public safety caused by these raids. "In the days of Shamgar son of Anath...the roads were abandoned; travelers took to winding paths." Verse 7 says, "...village life in Israel ceased..." And verse 8 continues, "...not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel."
These desperate circumstances motivated one man, Shamgar, to remedy the situation. The Bible simply describes his valor - he "struck down six hundred Philistines with an ox goad."
An ox goad was a farm implement. Oxen were used to plow the fields, and to assure their cooperation the plowman used a long wooden rod, anywhere from five to ten feet in length and up to two inches in diameter, to prod these sturdy animals into working. On the one end of the goad was a sharp point. On the other end was a broad, chisel-like blade, used to clean the plow of clay or roots.
This farmer’s tool became a lethal weapon in the hands of a courageous man of conviction. He defended his family, his countrymen and his property against the invading marauders with a farm implement.
Let’s apply Shamgar’s success secrets to our lives.
1. Start where you are.
Where was Shamgar? What was the starting point for him?
He was living in a time and place when his life and property, and the lives and property of his family and countrymen, were at the mercy of Philistine thieves and thugs.
He could have seen himself as helpless and hopeless but he didn’t.
There was a pretty good article in the paper this past Wednesday (11-3-04) that describes Shamgar’s attitude. The title of the article was, "Job anxiety can lead to career success" and the subtitle, "Psychologist says those who take pressure as part of life handle it best."
The article included "Three C’s of stress". "Salvatore R. Maddi, professor of psychology at the University of California-Irvine, says stress-hardy people are more successful and stay healthier. People who want to become better at dealing with stress should practice the Three C’s: Commitment, Control and Challenge."
Professor Maddi describes Commitment by saying, "When stress hits you, stay involved and don’t pull out."
Control: "Take charge of the stressful situation. You should control the situation, not the stress."
Challenge: "Think of the stress as normal. It’s an opportunity to learn. Don’t let yourself fall into self-pity."
Sounds like Shamgar practiced the "Three C’s of Stress" a long time ago!
He didn’t wait for perfect circumstances or perfect materials to start. He started where he was.
Even the most hopeful of people can be trampled down under a weight of worry and fear caused by the stress of life’s multiplied problems. That’s one of the many reasons why we need God. The Communists used to say that "only weak people need God", and in today’s culture that is what the psuedo-intellectual illitists also say. But the truth is - everybody is weak - therefore everyone needs God.
We’ve already seen in this series on the Book of Judges that God placed His Spirit upon these leaders in spite of their weaknesses. Beginning from a place of weakness is not necessarily a bad thing. It can actually be a good thing because it can lead to a God-thing!
God can do things in the lives of people who admit that they need Him that He cannot do in the lives of people who will not admit that they need Him.
Three times the Bible says, "God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble." (Proverbs 3:24; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5)
Shamgar did not wait until he had an army of thousands to lead in battle and you and I don’t have to wait until things get better before we advance.
1. Start where you are.
2. Use what you have.
An ox goad. Shamgar didn’t have a sword or spear. But he didn’t need one.
We don’t need a lot of things we think we need in order to succeed.
You may not have the monetary resources or the education you think it takes to succeed - but you can start where you are and use what you have - especially if you have the blessing of God on your life.
God approached Moses in the wilderness through the burning fiery bush and told him to return to Egypt, confront Pharaoh, and lead the Hebrews up from slavery. Moses immediately slinked into an excuse mode. "Who, me? I don’t have what it takes to do that!"
So God says to Moses, "What is that in your hand?" (Exodus 4:2) Moses replied, "Well, Lord, all I have is this shepherd’s staff", and God says, "That will do. Throw it on the ground." When Moses obeyed, his staff turned into a snake. Then God told him to pick it up by the tail. He did and it became a staff again. This staff was the instrument of God to turn the Nile River into blood and bring other great plagues on Egypt. It was the tool God used to part the Red Sea and bring about other miracles in the wilderness.
That shepherd’s staff wasn’t much but dedicated to God it became a mighty tool!
What is it that you already have that you can use to succeed? What has God already given you to help you realize your dreams?
Sometimes, the only thing a person has to succeed is an idea. In the Christian life, we would call those ideas "vision". And if God gives you vision - act upon it.
David used what he had - a sling. For the widow woman in Elijah’s day it was a little bit of meal in the bottom of the barrel and a little bit of oil that fed her and her son during the famine. For the little boy at the feeding of the 5,000 it was five loaves and two fish. For Samson it was the jawbone of a donkey. God can use anything.
What is it for you? Don’t wait for ideal circumstances and supplies to come your way. Don’t wait on God to send you something you already have.
1. Start where you are.
2. Use what you have.
3. Do what you can.
Defending himself against 600 Philistines with an ox goad definitely elevates Shamgar to the status of a champion. Doesn’t matter if he did it all at once or on separate occasions. All that matters is that he did what he could.
How often do we fail to make a contribution because we mistakenly conclude that our contribution won’t matter? Jesus taught us that even a cup of cold water given in His name is significant. (Mark 9:41)
You may feel you’re unworthy. That’s somewhat true - you are. For God to use us it means He has to use that which is unworthy because we all fall short of God’s standard of perfection. It takes God in our life to make us usable.
God isn’t looking for worthy people to bless - He’s looking for available people.
You may not be able to do something as grandiose as someone else. You may not get your name in the headlines or even achieve "15 minutes of fame". But if you will do what you can God will bless what you do.
What can one person do? What can you do? In Judges 3, there’s only one verse about this man Shamgar. Was what he did significant? It was to God. It was to his family. It was to his nation. The Bible says, "He too saved Israel."
God includes him as an example for us. Follow that example.
