Hearing and following God’s voice is a challenge for most believers today. When Christians have the issue of hearing the voice of the Lord, it will be difficult to follow God. A Christian should know how God is talking to him or her. There are different ways God uses to talk to His people. When people need direction and go through hardships, they need to understand how God moved from struggle to success is essential. This is what we are going to learn from the life of Gideon. Let us take our lesson today serious as we proceed.
The Suffering (Judges 6:1-6)
God uses tough times to get our attention. As we open Judges 6, we find the nation of Israel coming off a time of relative ease. Israel forgot God. They became self-sufficient. They didn’t need God. So, the Lord shook things up by rousing an enemy against them to show them how hard life can be without Him
Verse 1 says that the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. So, the LORD handed them over to Midian for seven years. Every year around harvest time, the nomadic Midianites would invade Israel.
And v.5 tells us that they would come in like locusts, ravaging the land. What they couldn’t carry with them, they destroyed. The Bible reports that it was so bad that many of the Israelites left their homes to live in caves and strongholds, fearing for their lives. This went on for seven years.
Verse 6 tells us that Israel became poverty-stricken because of Midian, and the Israelites cried out to the LORD. Learn this from Gideon: every experience in life is a test. And every trial in the lives of God’s people is tailored to draw us closer to God. When tough times come, instead of looking at them as if God is punishing you, try to see them as God’s gift of grace.
The Struggle (6:7-12)
God sees more than we do. His plan also included a most unlikely man named Gideon. We meet Gideon in v.11, where he is threshing some wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. Some of you know this, but city boys like me don’t. Usually, you would want to thresh wheat out in the open so that the wind could blow away the chaff. But Gideon has been stung before, so he goes into hiding in an underground winepress, hoping to avert the attention of the Midianites.
It’s a pitiful sight, full of frustration. discouragement, and fear. In verse 12, then the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, The LORD is with you, mighty warrior: “Can’t you imagine Gideon around for the man of valour the Lord was addressing? Was God being sarcastic? Or did He see more than Gideon saw? I believe God saw what He was about to make of Gideon. It was time Gideon saw it too.
Beloved, do you know who you are? One of the biggest lies we tell ourselves is that God only uses special people. If you are a born-again believer, you are God’s child (John 1:12), His friend (John 15:15), and His masterpiece (Eph.2:10). You have been justified (Rom. 5:1), freed forever from condemnation from God (Rom.8-1). You are adopted into His family (Eph.1:5), and your citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). You belong to God (I Cor.6:20), never to be separated from His love(Rom. 8:35)! And you have everything from Him you need for life and godliness! God knows who you are, even if you don’t. And He will work to help you see your true identity.
The Settlement (6:13-32)
God confirms His priorities with His presence. After being called a mighty warrior, Gideon questions God: “Please Sir, if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened? And where are all His wonders that our fathers told us about?”(v.13) Gideon concluded that the Lord had abandoned them.
God confirms His priorities with His presence in v.16,”I will be with you, “the LORD said to him, “You will strike Midland if it were a lone man. “Gideon is given an undeniable commission, told the remarkable results in advance, and promised the unrivalled partnership of the Lord Himself Gideon needed a personal encounter with God. God met him right where he was, giving him peace and purpose by his promised presence
However, personal faithfulness is a prerequisite to public usefulness 16:25.32). Before Gideon can be used publicly, he must first clean up his backyard. What’s the point in telling us this? If you want to learn how to trust God, you must first set your own house in order. Before God can use you mightily, He must be magnified in your own life and home.
God is patient with our faith process (6-33-40). But watch this Even after his encounter with Almighty God, even though he had been obedient to clean shop at home, and even though the Holy Spirit was empowering him, Gideon still struggled with doubts. He knows that God has promised to save Israel through him, but he’s looking in the mirror, and the reflection he sees doesn’t look encouraging
The Success (7:1-8)
God’s power, not ours, determines success. The LORD said to Gideon, You have too many people for Me to hand the Midianites over to you, (1) or else Israel might brag: I did it myself” God proceeds to give Gideon a couple of tests to whittle the number down. The first test culled 22,000 men out of the army, leaving 10,000. Still, too many said, God.
Gideon must have gulped hard when he counted how many were disqualified: 9700 were out, leaving only 300 men. Can you imagine how Gideon felt? Chapter 8 tells us that the Midianite army numbered 135,000 men. That’s 450 Mafianibes to every Israeli soldier. God wants Gideon’s army to trace these horns with a mere 300 men who know how to drink politely.
Prayer Session
- God, help me to hear your voice and to follow you accordingly in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
- Father, help me to do your will and to walk with you always so that I can recognize your name in the name of Jesus Christ.
- Oh Lord, make my life a good example that people will reckon with from this moment in the name of Jesus Christ.
- Lord Jesus, give me the powder I need to conquer my enemies from now on in the name of Jesus Christ.
- Father, make me a useful person today in the name of Jesus Christ.
- Almighty warrior, overcome all wicked people standing to terminate my life in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
- Lord Jesus, do not allow my enemies to overcome all that concerns me and my family members in the name of Jesus Christ.
- Oh Lord, may the Lord be my path to greatness and victory all the days of life in the name of Jesus Christ.
- Almighty God, my life will give glory to you from now and forevermore in the name of Jesus Christ.
- Oh God, let the happening that will glorify your name happen today in the name of Jesus Christ.
- I thank You for answering my prayers and all my requests have been granted in the name of Jesus Christ.
