Judges 6:12-16
And the angel of the Lord appeared unto [Gideon] and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where be all His miracles which our fathers told us of saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. And the Lord looked upon him and said, Go in this thy might and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house. And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.”
In the above passage of scripture, if read from verse 1, you will see Israel had enemies, the Midianties, who would come and plunder them, leaving them impoverished. Gideon was hiding in order to thresh wheat by the winepress secretly so the Midianites would not steal it. At this point, we see clearly that Gideon was chosen and commissioned by God to be the one who would lead Israel in victory against the Midianites and he was assured that God was with him.
In the conversation that ensued, it is evident that Gideon could not see why God would choose and commission him for such a task because of his current circumstances. He expressed doubt about God’s presence and about his own ability; he expressed his poor financial status and his lack of social standing amongst his people.
In spite of his protests, questions and doubts, God saw Gideon in only one way: as a man of valour and might and gave reassurance that He would be with Gideon. All of Gideon’s personal issues and viewpoints did not make any difference to God – Gideon was the one chosen and commissioned, regardless.
When God has earmarked you for an assignment, you need to have the same view as God, regardless of your current circumstances and thoughts about yourself. The creditors may be knocking at your door; you may not be working; your marriage may be looking shaky; your culture or denomination may not accept you as a minister of God; you may think you’re too old or too young; you may feel under-qualified – whatever. When God has called you, for a certain work at a certain time – just obey. Every other issue is secondary to obeying the Will of God. Everything else in your life will have to line up to the Will of God or it just has to depart from you. When you reach that point of decision and hold on to it, making God your priority regardless of all else, you will be able to go forward knowing that God is with you giving you certain victory.
God’s choosing and commissioning is not dependent on how you stand today with regards to your own ability; your bank account; where you live. These things can change in a moment. God is eternal, unchanging, truthful, knows all about you and still has an assignment for you – regardless.
Written by Rev Marjorielyn R Campbell, ©Petra Global Ministries 2007
E-mail: admin@petraglobal.org.uk
This devotion may be reprinted, copied or distributed with the following acknowledgement shown:
“Reprinted/Copied/Distributed with the permission of:
Rev Marjorielyn R Campbell, ©Petra Global Ministries 2007; www.petraglobal.org.uk”
