Chump to Champ

FAITH LESSONS FROM GIDEON

Without a doubt Gideon is one of the most honest heroes of the faith listed in Hebrews chapter 11. I suppose that he would make a great guest on Oprah…didn’t I read that in the bible? Let me see…Oh yeah…sorry he was from “Ophrah” under the oak tree. Ahhh… guess I got that one wrong.

Anyway, Gideon is a wonderful story of the human condition. One in which the truth be told we all can relate. I mean who would not be afraid of a marauding army of thugs, in this case Midianites, ravaging your town and villages in which you live. Is it any wonder Gideon was hiding out in the wine press?

The Messenger of the LORD came and sat under the oak tree in Ophrah that belonged to Joash from Abiezer's family. Joash's son Gideon was beating out wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites.

Now what is so interesting about Gideon is that like so many he had to walk a journey of faith. Can you imagine what is was like to be cowering in fear only to be visited by God’s messenger who is telling you that you are a “mighty man of valor”. Ole Gid, he must have been scratching his head over that one. It would not surprise me a bit if he said out loud…Ah okay…if you say so.

At some point however, it became necessary for Gideon to venture out of the hiding place to a place of exposure. Often this is true in our life. The Lord’s messenger comes and we must decide what we will do. Will we believe what is spoken of us or will we stay in seclusion of our existence marking time trampling out the stuff of our miserable life.

Lets face it, it is true that we all need to take steps of faith but faith is not blind and sometimes it is true that one cannot perfectly hear Gods voice and so it must be tested. This is Gideon’s M.O. also. Is God really calling me, Gideon pondered? You might be saying the same thing? And yes this means even one who at this time is not a Christian. How do I know? Because God is calling everyone to follow him. It is ok to test the Lord but once tested we must all obey.

17 Gideon said to him, "If you find me acceptable, give me a sign that it is really you speaking to me.

In doing so he was able to take the time to test the truth of the Lord’s call. Gideon made one tasty meal for this messenger which he promptly barbequed. Well… burned it up anyway. Gideon upon seeing this was convinced… The Lord was with him.

From this point on in the story Gideon was tested, his army whittled down from thousands to a mere three hundred. And then even when he had these three hundred valiant warriors what does God do? Does he have them take swords and slash the enemy? No…he has them blow trumpets and smash clay pots outside the enemies camp and shout real loud. Well as weird as it seems, it worked. The enemy, all up in a dither started killing each other all while Gideon’s army looked on. Pretty cool eh?

So the moral of the story is… becoming a follower of God is the gutsiest thing anyone will ever do. God’s workings are a mystery. His ways are higher then our ways, His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. To hear his voice and embrace his call is to step out into the unknown faith filled world of the eternal adventure. Come, God beckons, follow me and I will wow and amaze you. And you too will move from a weak willed chump to a faith filled champ.

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