I'm Being Trained For Something Else

Gideon has to be one of my fav characters in the Bible. I think because I relate to him well. And perhaps many of us do.

In short Gideon was an Israelite judge who was considered the least powerful in all his region. His story tells how God can take a weak person and use him for great purpose.

Ahh... yes! So much hope for me!

At the time my study landed me to this morning, the Midian armies were strong and fierce and were public enemy number 1. The Lord spoke to Gideon and told him not to fear, that he’d successfully gain victory over the Midianites.

But then came a strange request from God. Judges 7:9 says this, “That night the Lord said, ‘Go down into the Midianite camp, for I have given you victory over them!’”

Go into the area he was most afraid of?

Gideon already felt so weak and ill-suited for the tasks assigned to him, and now he was being asked to go into the very place that ignited fear?

Oh but if not for the mighty wind of God’s Spirit upon our lives, turning the mission impossible, to a man invincible!

And Gideon had already reduced his army by almost 32,000 men! The Lord had ordered this reduction in soldiers to keep them humble, otherwise they’d be tempted to believe more in their own strength than in God’s sovereignty.

And God’s order for Gideon to approach enemy territory at night was, at best, confusing.
But there’s something you can’t get when you’re safe. Pastor Bill Johnson says, “We have set the stage for our comfort so we don’t have access to what we’ve asked for.”

His means for bringing divine rescue often comes hidden amidst dangerous requests.

We cannot grow in our places of comfort.

We see here that Gideon finds courage in the, “valley of the shadow of death”. But the darkness of the shadow is simply the result of God’s nearness!

Gideon was sent by God so he was perfectly safe. He had no reason to fear when the Lord was found not only on the other side of victory, but in the deepest part of the valley.

Gideon was being prepared for greater things. He was being trained for bigger tasks. And so I tell myself today, in the midst of my anguish and fear, “I'm being trained for something else!”