A COLLECTION OF BOOKISH THOUGHTS

Judges 7:9-11 And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.  But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host: And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host.  Then he went down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host.

Let’s take a quick walk through Judges 6-7: Gideon’s victory over the Midianites.  I was encouraged by what I found in this passage, and I hope you will be encouraged too.

The children of Israel turned away from the Lord, and He punished their wickedness by allowing the Midianites over power them for seven years.  The Midianites moved into the land of Israel, taking homes, land, and livestock.  The Israelites were forced to seek shelter in mountains and caves. They were impoverished and afraid.  The Midianites left no sustenance (Judges 6:4).  

Gideon, like his fellow countrymen, was afraid of the Midianites.  He had to thresh his wheat hiding behind a winepress. But the Lord came to him and said, “The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour” (Judges 6:12).  

Gideon responded by questioning the Lord:  If the Lord is with us, why are these bad things happening?  Didn’t He do miracles for our fathers?  Where is He now?  

The Lord didn’t get angry with Gideon’s response.  Instead, He told Gideon that he – Gideon – would save Israel from the Midianites.  

Gideon said, “I am poor and the youngest of my father’s house; I have no qualifications to drive out the enemy.” 

 The Lord responded, “Surely I will be with thee” (Judges 6:16).  

“I need a sign”, said Gideon.  “I need you to stay here ‘til I come back with a present for you.”  

It seems like a simple sign Gideon asked for, but when he returned the Lord was still there waiting for him.  Gideon prepared an offering for the Lord which the Lord received and set on fire, similar to the burning bush for Moses.  

At this point, Gideon knows he was talking to the same God who brought Israel out of Egypt.  He is going to deliver Israel again, this time by Gideon’s hand.  Even though he knows God is on his side, Gideon is afraid.  God commands that he break down the altar of Baal, but Gideon does it by night “because he feared his father’s household, and the men of the city” (Judges 6:27).  

After the alter of Baal was broken, Gideon called for reinforcements from four tribes of Israel to help defeat the Midianites.  When they were gathered, Gideon asked for two more signs from the Lord: first that the fleece he set out overnight be the only thing with dew on it, and second, the next night, that the fleece be the only thing that is dry.  God didn’t get impatient with Gideon because God understands human fear.  He understands that sometimes we need continual affirmation that He is right there beside us.  

Something else that was different about the signs of the fleece: Gideon wasn’t the only one present for those two signs.  I heard a preacher say once that perhaps the signs of the fleece were not for Gideon, but for the children of Israel, to assure them that Gideon was God’s chosen man.  Whether the signs of the fleece were for Gideon or for the children of Israel, God did not get impatient.  He gave them the signs that asked for to encourage them and remind them that He was definitely going to lead them to victory.  

Gideon’s army began with thirty-two thousand men, but God told them they were too many.  This was God’s battle, not Israel’s.  God had Gideon narrow down the men until he was left with three hundred.  I’m sure Gideon started to wonder, Why is God doing this?  What is going on?  How do three hundred defeat multitudes like the sand of the sea?

God knows just what we need and when we need it.  In His mercy, God gave Gideon a fourth sign without Gideon even having to ask for it.  God told Gideon to go into the camp of the Midianites, quietly, and then He said, “But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host” (Judges 7:10).  God knew Gideon was afraid.  He didn’t chastise him for his fear.  He simply said, “If you’re afraid, don’t go alone.”  Gideon found his courage that night.  He found the ultimate sign that God was with him, a sign that he hadn’t asked for, but that God willingly gave him anyway.  He found two Midianites talking about a dream.  When one explained that a cake of barley bread rolled into the camp and toppled a tent, the other exclaimed, “This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host” (Judges 7:14).  They didn’t know Gideon could hear them.  God provided the final bit of encouragement Gideon needed to lead his tiny army to victory. 

Gideon returned to his camp, divided his men, and surrounded the Midianites.  They brought lamps hidden inside clay pitchers and trumpets.  When the men were in position, they broke the pitchers, shone their lamps, blew on their trumpets, and cried, “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon” (Judges 7:20).  The Midianites were afraid and plunged into chaos trying to get away from Gideon.  They turned on each other as they fled.  Gideon, who had once been afraid, was now chasing a fleeing and frightened multitude.  Never again does the Bible say Gideon was afraid.  He chased the enemy out of Israel and sent the tribes to destroy enemy cities.  Gideon’s victory over Midian led to forty years of peace in Israel – peace without fear.

Did you notice throughout Judges 6-7 God never got impatient with Gideon’s fear?  He never chastised Gideon for being afraid.  He did not say “No” when Gideon asked for signs; He even gave a sign that Gideon didn’t ask for.  God understands that people feel fear, even when we know He is with us.  How do we combat fear?  We must maintain our relationship with Him by reading His Word and talking to Him through prayer.  The more we know the Word, the more we know the Lord of the Word.  Rest on His promises like this one: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”  Since God cannot lie, then He most definitely is with us, just like He was with Gideon. 

I hope this encourages you today.  You are not alone.  You don’t have to face your fears alone.  God is with you.  He knows your fear, and He knows how to help you with that fear.  And, best of all, He wants to help you with your fear.

Deuteronomy 4: 32-35 (KJV) For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?  Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?  Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?  Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him.

I was listening to Deuteronomy 4 when these verses jumped out at me.  I have listened to them repeatedly over the last few weeks so they could imprint on my heart.  What mighty, amazing things the children of Israel saw when they were in the wilderness.  Sadly, by this time, the generation that walked on dry ground through the Red Sea had died, but they made sure to tell their children all about it, and those children grew up seeing over and over how God took care of them.  Shoes that never wore out.  Daily food from heaven.  Battles won that – humanly speaking – should have been lost.  They didn’t have to look far for miracles and for signs of God’s constant presence and protection.  

Now think about your life.  What have you seen God do for you?  What prayers has He answered for you?  Have you ever watched Him do something that only He could do?  I want to tell you about what I have seen God do.  

It was a Thursday in October 2022.  It started with an email.  Subject: My sister’s name.  My husband wrote one line.  “Call your mom.  Your sister has been in an accident.”

For three days, my sister was unconscious.  She had a traumatic brain injury, several small brain bleeds, a broken bone in her nose, bruising around her eye, and road rash on one side.  It could have been so much worse, but it was still bad.  My sister, who was always so full of life and energy, was in a hospital bed with breathing tubes and IVs.  Not moving.  Not awake.  For three days.  

Many times, I thought, “I know God can work a miracle.  I know He can bring her out of this.  I know He has that power.  But will He?  Can He, really?  And why would He do that for her, for my family, for me?  There are other people out there that He hasn’t healed.”  It was a battle.  All I could pray was, “Please Lord.  Please.”  It’s comforting, now, to think about Romans 8:26 which says the Holy Spirit intercedes for us when we don’t know what to pray.  

Sunday.  I was making the hour drive to the hospital, listening to songs that I would turn into prayers.  In Jesus Name (God of Possible) by Katy Nichole says, “I pray for your healing.  That circumstances would change.  I pray that the fear inside would flee in Jesus’ name.  I pray that a breakthrough would happen today.  I pray miracles over your life in Jesus’ name… He’s the God of Possible.”  Arise My Love by Newsong says just that, “Arise my love!”  And though I knew that song was talking about Jesus rising from the grave, I was praying that my sister, too, would rise from the grave-like hospital bed.  

I am here to tell you God worked miracles that day and has worked miracles every day since.  For three days, my sister was unconscious.  She woke up that Sunday.  She tried to smile and give us a thumbs-up.  My mom and I were in the room with her early that morning.  We could feel the comfort of the prayers of God’s people all across the country.  She started to make great progress.  Within a week, she was moved out of Pediatric ICU into a regular hospital room.  One week later, she was moved into rehab.  And a week after that, she was released and sent home.  She was back in school one month after the accident.  And in December, she was able to dance the Christmas story with her ballet school.  My sister is a walking miracle, and that’s what I tell anyone who asks.

Now that I have shared with you the great things that I have seen God do, I have two challenges for you and for me.  First, let God work through you to encourage someone else.  Don’t underestimate how much a simple card, phone call, or text message means.  Even if it goes unanswered, you may have brought a smile to someone who is hurting.  Second, think of the times you have seen God work.  Find some way to memorialize it.  Write it down, share it with a friend, draw a picture.  Give God the glory He deserves.  There will be times when we don’t understand what He is doing in our lives and when we have to trust Him blindly.  In those times, we can look back and remember what He has done before.  He has the power to do it again.

I have seen God do great things before, but I always felt like I was on the sidelines.  Since October, I’ve seen Him up close and personal.  I’ve seen Him answer my own prayers.  I’ve seen Him work through His people to encourage and help my parents.  I have felt the peace and comfort He gives when the world seems to be crumbling.  And I can say with Moses, “Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else” (Deut. 4:39).

(Image credit: I apologize I do not know whose image this was originally, but it has been a great comfort to many. Thank you!)