Gideon: A Lesson in the Courage and Strength Only God Can Provide
Have you ever been asked to do something crazy? Throughout the Bible, God called His people to carry out seemingly impossible (and often ridiculous) tasks. For example, God called Moses to go before Pharaoh and demand that he allow millions of his slaves to go free. And let’s not forget Joshua. God asked him to take his men into a battle that involved nothing more than marching around the city walls for seven days. Then there was Gideon….
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When Gideon was asked to do the impossible, he responded the way most of us probably would. He felt under-qualified and incapable. And to be completely honest, God was asking him to do something rather crazy! Not only was he to go into battle against a massive Midianite army, but God dwindled his military down to just 300 men.
In his initial fear, Gideon asked for several signs from God that it was indeed Him speaking. He needed to know that it was truly God who was challenging him to this task.
It amazes me that God didn’t hesitate to give him these signs. He proved Himself over and over again.
And if that wasn’t enough, He did something profound to give Gideon the confidence he needed to do exactly what he was asked to do. He told him to sneak into the Midianite camp and eavesdrop.
And when Gideon reached the camp, he overheard something profound….
When Gideon came, behold, a man was relating a dream to his friend. And he said, “Behold, I had a dream; a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down so that the tent lay flat.” His friend replied, “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and all the camp into his hand.” When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has given the camp of Midian into your hands.” – Judges 7:13-15
How amazing is it that God gave a dream to a Midianite man and then gave the interpretation of that dream to his friend…. all so that Gideon could overhear the conversation and know that God had His hand in this battle. Even the Midianites knew that God was going to use Gideon to defeat them!
If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. - 2 Timothy 2:13 (NASB)
When God gives us impossible tasks, He never leaves us empty-handed. We are equipped with every spiritual blessing to carry out all God has called us to do. But what amazes me most about God and His provision is that He is faithful to give us the confidence we need to do the impossible. He proves Himself in the little things so that we will trust Him in the big things.
God displays His power in our lives in a way that strengthens and encourages us to dream big in Him.
Perhaps one of the most amazing parts of Gideon’s story is that God met him where he was at. When God first approached him, he lacked faith and courage. But God knew his heart. He knew exactly what Gideon needed to grow. How amazing is it that we serve a God who won’t get mad at us when we take our doubts to Him?
That’s exactly what Gideon did, and God proved Himself to be faithful.
*Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations taken from the NASB.
**Photo by Fabian Struwe on Unsplash
