A Gideon Moment
By Elin Henderson
“And the LORD said to Gideon, “The
people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into your
hands, lest Israel claim glory itself….”
Judges
7:2b (NKJV)
If nothing else, most people in
full-time ministry are plan-o-holics! We love schedules, plans, strategies… You
name it! To a degree, we have to be this way, or we probably wouldn’t get much
accomplished. We look at the tasks that need to be accomplished and then
consider the time, effort and energy that is needed in order to come up with a
strategy and boldly move forward. Of course, with the amount of interruptions
that come at us in a day that are NOT part of our schedule, it is a wonder we
get anything done!
Gideon did the same. He looked at
the enemy before him, and the battle that was looming ahead of him. As a good
leader, he knew their strengths and weaknesses and developed a battle plan that
suited the situation. He knew the amount of soldiers it would take and how to
deploy them. Then God started to do the unthinkable.
He began a slow process of whittling
down Gideon’s well-laid plans and his well-developed army of 30,000… until it
was a measly 300! Gideon’s job just went from difficult to basically
impossible!
How many times have we found
ourselves in a Gideon Moment? We
develop a very well-thought-out strategy, amass our troops, get ready to head
to battle - - and then God shows up and whittles away our hoarded resources
until there’s nearly nothing. We stand there in shock and dismay while God
says, “Now, get at it! Go to war!”
But we do not fight alone! Even
though our armies are a fraction of what they used to be, and our well-laid
plans and strategies are no longer effective, God fights for us and shows
Himself strong on our behalf. A Gideon Moment brings a grand opportunity for
our faith in God to grow. When we cease to focus on our own resources and
plans, and readjust our eyes to see only Him,
we see Him bring victory out of nothing!
GOING
DEEPER:
1.
Does this
mean that we shouldn’t plan or strategize in life/ministry? There is sufficient
Scripture that would rebuff that, but how should we hold these well-laid plans
and ministry?
2.
Can you
think of any other examples in Scripture where a Gideon Moment occurred?
(Hint: Jericho, Red Sea, David and Goliath…) How do they encourage you?
FURTHER
READING:
Oakwood’s missionaries Elin
Henderson (a registered nurse) and her husband Phil serve as church planters
with New Tribes in Mozambique, Africa.
Elin is mother to sixteen-year-old Callie and fourteen-year-old Elias.
