First, God calls them cowards.
In verse 11, it says, The angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak tree in Ophrah. This is a sign that God is now ruling over this place. The oppression of Midian was cruel. In the midst of this deep despair, the Israelites cried out to the Lord again. Yet our God heard this shameless cry and sent the angel of the Lord. At that moment, Gideon was hiding from the Midianites in a winepress, secretly threshing wheat. How cowardly! It was not because Gideon was particularly timid, but because of the seven years of Midianite terror. To such a Gideon, the angel of the Lord appeared and called him mighty warrior. We are all like sheep, always afraid because we only see the reality before our eyes. But God knows the beginning, middle, and end of our lives, so He can lead us to salvation. This is similar to how, even though we are sinners, God calls us righteous based on the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. The way the Lord is with us is by calling me, who is still a coward, Mighty Warrior! This is grace and joy. I hope you will believe in the Lords call to be a mighty warrior and fulfill your mission of salvation wherever you are.
Second, God sends a doubter.
Even though Gideon received an incredible call of grace, he continued to ask questions of doubt. If God is with us, how could He abandon us in the midst of this difficult trial? And Gideon concludes that God has forsaken us. Why does Gideon doubt so much? The reason is that his standard of judgment is his own thought that if God is with us, we will not face trials. No matter how much we search the Bible, we find that God has never guaranteed prosperity, so we should not make this the principle of our faith. However, even though Gideon was plagued by doubt, the Lord sent him on a mission to deliver Israel from the hands of Midian. And even though he was afraid and doubtful, the Lord told him, Go in this your strength (verse 14) and gave him the important message that He was sending him. I believe that this message is given to me and to all of you today. When we are caught up in doubt, the Lord does not give us explanations but missions. I believe that the cure for doubt is the mission given to me today, and I bless all of us to stand tall as great warriors who are greatly used for salvation by obeying the mission.
Third, God makes a promise to the calculator.
God continues to tell Gideon that He will be with him, but Gideon keeps asking God questions. Friends, what is the time for asking questions? It is the time for quiet time. According to Gideon#039s calculations, Israel had no means left to fight against Midian, and he pleaded that he was not qualified. Of course, you have to calculate when you go out to fight. But what Gideon overlooked in his calculations was God, who had promised to be with him. We constantly calculate, Is this profitable or a loss? But no matter how much we calculate with our minds, if we are separated from God, those calculations will inevitably be skewed. The Lord did not calculate our salvation, the most difficult equation, but died on the cross out of love, giving up everything. And He overcame death and rose again. Even now, we are trying to leave our mission while tapping away at our calculators. But our Lord promises, Great warrior! Return to your mission, for I will surely be with you! I earnestly hope that you and I will believe in this promise of the Lord and decide to become great warriors.
This is a community sharing. One deacon was born into a Christian family but remained in a fluctuating faith for a long time. Then his first child was diagnosed with a rare disease, and his second child was diagnosed with severe autism. Especially to heal his second child, he visited famous treatment institutions across the country, but he fell into deep despair after being scammed by a school. Despite coming to our community through this hardship, she even bought lottery tickets out of desperation to treat her daughter. As an elite deacon, she had a prideful belief that she could do something on her own, making it difficult for her to hear the message about acknowledging her sins, leading her to consider leaving the church. However, she could not leave due to her daughters#039 suffering, and over time, through the Word, she came to realize her prideful sins and repented. Now, he has come to understand that rare diseases or autism are not curses, but rather a Babylonian captivity that humbled his pride and led him to meet the Lord, and he confesses that this is the greatest grace of his life. I believe that by staying in the community, the deacon has become a great warrior of faith.
Like Gideon, we are often filled with fear and doubt, and our lives are often governed by our own thoughts and calculations. However, God comes into our lives and speaks to us even today. I bless you in the name of the Lord that you may stand firm as great warriors fulfilling the mission of salvation in the places where God has entrusted youampmdashin your families, churches, and individual lives.
