Tag Archives: Mighty man of valor

I invited God to my party…He didn’t even RSVP.

20 Replies

I “stole” part of this post from The Sweetheart! He taught last week when we were in Georgia and mentioned the fact that God didn’t show up to his party. Find out what kind of party we are talking about today!

I love parties.
  • Birthdays
  • Anniversaries
  • Graduations
  • Job promotions
  • Bon voyage parties
  • Super Bowl parties
  • Baby gender reveal parties!

The list could go on and on. We love to celebrate just about anything and hold nothing back when we get together to par-tay!

I had a party recently and invited everyone around me. I even invited God. It seemed all of my friends had plans; God didn’t show up either. He didn’t even send a “Respondez, s’il vous plait”!

I was hurt, disappointed and confused. Didn’t God want to join me?

Gideon also wanted to have God join him at his party. 

“And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!'” Judges 6:12.

A man of valor is one who has great courage in the face of danger, especially in battle. Gideon may not have thought he possessed this impressive trait but he was about to find out that with God he was unbeatable.

“Gideon said to Him, ‘O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this  happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.'”

Gideon was unsure of himself and his situation. His army was facing an attack from the Midianites and Gideon did not think they were able to conquer this enemy. He was so distressed about it that he even felt like everything he had heard his entire life was just a fairy tale. “Where are all the miracles I have heard about since I was a child? Have we now been forsaken?”

This lets us know that there are still going to be times that we may question: “Where is God?” Or more precisely, “Does He even realize where I am?!”

God, if You are with us…then why?

The reality is there are going to be some tough days ahead. There are going to be some struggles in our flesh. We are going to deal with afflictions and sickness. Our accounts are going to get pretty low, perhaps even red. There will be days that the heavens will seem locked up. We will mimic the cry of Gideon. “God, if it was really you, then why?”

Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?”

I can imagine the Lord was patient with Gideon. He knew his shortcomings, yet He was confident in Gideon’s ability…if he would go in the name of his God. The angel of the Lord didn’t feel sorry for Gideon. He didn’t join with him in his doubt or lack of confidence.

“So he said to Him, ‘O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the
weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.'”

The first pep talk wasn’t enough for Gideon. The angel of the Lord called him a mighty  man of valor, complimenting him on his bravery! But Gideon still wasn’t convinced. He mentions his shortcomings and his family’s pedigree. And like we do, he comes up with excuses.

  • I’m not a minister.
  • My father wasn’t a missionary or even a minister.
  • I don’t have a degree in theology.
  • How can you possibly mean me?

But instead of joining in with him, God refuses to come to Gideon’s Pity Party.

And He won’t come to mine either.

pity party

 

God simply reminds Gideon of the mission…and the fact that it isn’t about him…it is about HIM!

Just as Gideon was finding out through his interaction…we must be filled by God in order to accomplish what He desires to work through us! He would equip him, all Gideon had to do was Go.

It is the same for us today. Jesus will not leave us without the tools we need to accomplish His will. But self-pity is downright destructive and will leave us alone and frustrated. No one wants to be around someone who feels sorry for themselves and blames everyone around them for their troubles.

It’s not God’s job or desire to show up at our Pity Parties!

Click To Tweet

If you have compassion, or pity, for others you show them love or help them in their time  of need. But if you turn that pity on yourself, feeling “Woe is me” all of the time, then no one wants to be around you. You are not doing anything to help yourself or fix your problem!

Pity towards others is commendable; pity for yourself is destructive!

Click To Tweet

He wants us to put our trust in Him, in His Word and go in the confidence of the Holy Spirit. “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Roman 8:37 NIV.

Are you feeling sorry for yourself today? It is natural, friend. We are human.

Maybe you feel it is justified because LIFE is just overwhelming right now. Nothing is your fault; circumstances just keep piling up and it seems as if all of heaven is against you.

What can you do?

First. Put your confidence in the One who is in control. Let Him handle your worries, your fears; give Him your doubts!

Then Pour yourself into His Word…there are promises in there! Cling to them; make them your own.

Pray. Yes, pray and then pray some more. The more you talk to the Lord the more you will understand His ways, be able to hear His voice and become more like Him. “But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit…” Jude 1:10 NLT.

We aren’t in despair, we are a people blessed with Hope. A hope that never fades but keeps us every single day, no matter what comes our direction. He never leaves us comfortless…He sent the Holy Spirit for that reason. “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever…” John 14:16.

Before you know it, you will change that invitation from Pity Party to Praise Party…I promise Jesus will show up at that one.

Blessings, friends.

Kingdom2Sharing with Making your home sing, Amaze Me Monday, Motivation Monday, Inspire Me Monday, Living Proverbs 31, Modest Monday, Monday Musings, Mama Moments

 

Throw out that fleece!

16 Replies

Are you familiar with the story of Gideon in the Old Testament? I am fascinated by it; by Gideon’s boldness, if not outright nerve, and by God’s patience, tolerance and amusement with Gideon. In fact, I think I see some of ME in this guy…how about you?

Here is how the story sets up: In the Book of Judges, sixth chapter, God has told Gideon that He will lead him into battle against the Midianites and Amalekites. “And the angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, ‘The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!’”

It seems as if there is great confidence put in Gideon from the start. The Lord called him a Mighty Man of Valor; quite a compliment from the Angel of the Lord.

But even then Gideon asks for a sign. “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about…”

The Lord is persistent, and patient and responds, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?”

That is not enough for Gideon. The promises of God straight from the Lord Himself…it isn’t enough. He wants to prepare an offering of a young goat and unleavened bread and he even asks the Angel of the Lord to wait while he does all of this! When he brings back the offering, he wants a sign that it is really God who is talking with him. So the Angel of the Lord takes the staff in His hand, touches the meat and bread, and then fire comes up out of the rock and consumes both.

 “So Gideon said to God, ‘If You will save Israel by my hand as You have said – look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.’”

Now it is time for the battle. He has a promise; He has a confirmation from God. Is it enough?

“…For we walk by faith, not by sight…” 2 Corinthians 5:7.

When he gets up the next morning and squeezes the fleece, he wrings out dew into a bowl and fills it. God was patient with Gideon, and answers his request.

He has a promise; He has a confirmation, and now a wet fleece from God. Is it enough?

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5.

“Then Gideon said to God, ‘Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more: Let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew.’”

Patience, patience, patience. “And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground.”

He has a promise; He has a confirmation, a wet fleece, and now a dry fleece. Is it enough?

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  Hebrews 11:1.

Gideon had all of the confirmation anyone would need from God but he didn’t have faith in God.

Click To Tweet

What are we looking for today? Do we fleece God and say, “If you will do this, show me this, work this out my way, then I will do thus and thus for You, Lord.”

A fleece seems a little, or a lot, presumptuous to tell Almighty God what to do and specifically how to do it. It is more than seeking a sign.

A fleece literally instructs God what to do and when!

We are just like Gideon. We already have the promises of God! Sixty six books filled to the brim with promises and yet, just like Gideon, we seek a sign.

How many signs does the Lord have to perform for us to believe?

Faith is trusting God even when we cannot see, when we take God at His Word and just do what He asks us to do. Continually asking God for another miracle, even testing God, is not the kind of faith He is looking for.

Gideon already had an answer. God had told Him that He was going to be with him in battle. It was a done deal. But Gideon lacked faith. He was so full of fear and doubt that he wanted more confirmation.

If we are always seeking a sign then we will never have enough, we will always need another prompt to get us going every time God wants us to do something for Him.

God will tolerate our fleeces but He cherishes our faith

But if we walk by faith, trusting that He knows what is best and continually relying on the promises in His written Word, then we will not need “signs”. We know He is there and wants only the best for us and will work through us.

Putting a fleece out before the Lord may not be wrong, in the case of Gideon the Lord did answer his pleas. But we must be ever so careful because so many of our fleeces can come about by happenstance, or not come about at all, and leave the believer wondering and confused.

The Lord was undoubtedly trying to increase the faith of Gideon by answering his requests so deliberately. Perhaps even today God will answer the prayer of a young Christian that doesn’t understand the Word by granting his fleece request. It is also true that there are other examples in the Bible of people asking God for a sign (the servant seeking a sign when looking for a wife for Isaac, Genesis 24) and in the Old Testament they often cast lots to decide the outcome of a situation.

Jesus was asked for sign and what was His response?

“Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”Matthew 12:38-39.

He repeats it in the 16th chapter when asked again for a sign!

Today, we have the Holy Spirit within us. He is our guide, instructor, leader and the One who gives complete direction through His Spirit and Word! We pray, we ask for guidance and then we trust Him that He knows what is best and we are following His will. Continually asking for signs may only bring confusion into our Spirit-filled lives. If we make it a pattern in our spiritual walk to fleece God for every little matter that “comes down the pike” we are people of weak faith, just like Gideon was in the beginning.

Yes, he is listed in the Hall of Fame in the Faith chapter! Gideon did great exploits with the anointing of the Lord on his life and undoubtedly his faith grew, but his faith was weak in the beginning, as is evident in all of his need for confirmation.

Are you fleecing God or putting faith in His Word? Can you “throw out” that fleece today and just trust God?  It’s a lot less work to believe and doesn’t waste near as much time. Just ask Gideon. 

Kingdom2