The Three Success Secrets Of Shamgar

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.