Taking it back to the old testament, lets grab our popcorn and settle in. I’ll drop a little background info to set the scene. After the great exodus from Egypt and all of the miracles throughout the life of Moses, there begins another era. This is the era of Joshua.
After Moses’ death, Joshua stepped in as the new leader. Not just a leader but a warrior-leader whose role was to press in and fight for the inheritance God promised His people. This inheritance was the promised land. But here’s the thing about God’s promises. They come with action. See, God promised to give them the land but that didn’t mean that their enemies were just going to pack up and hand it over to them. No. The blessing of a promise comes only through obedience. And obedience means action. They had to fight.
Gosh, there are so many lessons we could touch on in the story of Gideon. But one of my favorites is the fact that God calls him while he’s hiding from His enemies. Isn’t that so like God? To call us out of hiding. To see us in the dark. To call us into the light. To call us to fight.. To remind us of the promises and the inheritance. To remind us of our commissioning to obey so He can fulfill His word and bless His people?
The story is also a great reminder that God is patient with us.. There’s a wonderful quote by Tony Evans: “You can ask God a question, but you should not question Him.” Y’all… that can preach! See, God knows we are human. He knows our minds, our hearts, our thoughts.. He knows our weaknesses. I also believe it is part of His nature to want to establish that personal relationship and build on trust. As a father to a child. I can personally share that when God has asked me to do something and I’m hesitant to receive it… I’ll start asking Him to confirm it’s Him. And time and time again…He does! In ways only I would notice or ways that would only be important or meaningful to ME, He does it. God knows how to talk to His kids!
But, there’s a next step. It’s that obedience bit. Gideon asked God not once but TWICE to confirm what He as asking him to do… and He did it. So, Gideon’s response then HAD to be to obey. Once again… He had obeyed God in destroying the idols of his father’s house. Now, God was asking him to take a bigger step.
There’s a line I read while researching on this topic that says it like this, “He will not rebuke us for having questions, but when He answered our prayers, we must demonstrate faith to believe what He says.” See, God is always faithful on His end. It is up to us to have eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts that recognize Him. Then.. it is up to us to follow through. To obey.
Today, I want to leave you with this reminder. God calls and uses and equips who He will. When there is humility, sacrifice, and obedience. Victory lies behind every ‘yes’ in obedience to God’s calling. We may not see it in the physical, but God has already gone before us today and for the remainder of our days. He knows. And He’s calling. May we all have the courage to answer with a yes. With clean hands, pure hearts, and a desire to be used for His glory!
