Judges 6:12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
Judges 6 begins with an angel talking to Gideon saying, “thou mighty man of valour!” However, in this passage Gideon isn’t feeling very valiant – he’s consumed with his circumstances — how poor his family is and how he’s the least of his fathers’ house. He doesn’t feel he’s done anything worthy of being called valiant, yet the angel still addresses him “mighty man of valour!”
Gideon is not the only one who struggles with feeling unvaliant, though, is he? Even the best of us struggle with feelings of failure and defeat. But we must remember that we are part of the Lord’s army – and in the Lord’s army we do not depend upon our own strength. We depend upon the power of the Lord! We depend upon the victory that He has already won!
Imagine the countless thousands of saints like Gideon who have passed away before us and now sit in heaven’s glory where every tear is dried, and every wound is healed — who have already fought the battle of life and are calling down to us from heaven saying “Fellow Saint, you can get through this thing! Fight this battle – for we have fought these same battles in our lives and been rewarded with heaven’s glory! So fight through and we’ll see you soon beside us! March forward you mighty man and woman of valor!”
The Lord stands anxiously awaiting our call. He wants us to walk in His power, not our own! Let’s give him our circumstances today and strive to rely on His strength to conquer them!
Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.
During his first year of graduate study at the University of California at Berkeley, George B. Dantzig arrived late for a statistics class. He saw two problems on the blackboard. Assuming they were homework, he copied them and a few days later turned in his solutions. One Sunday morning six weeks afterward, the professor appeared at Dantzig’s door, waving a manuscript. It turned out that the professor had merely written two examples of unsolvable problems on the blackboard. The manuscript was Dantzig’s work readied for publication. George Dantzig later became known as the father of linear programming.
Had this guy gotten to class little earlier to hear the professor say that these problems “couldn’t be solved”, sadly, he might have never even have tried to solve them — probably like all the other students in the class. We humans give up way too easily — someone says it can’t be done and we don’t give it a second thought! The word “chutzpah”, in Hebrew, means nerve or gall. We often view those words in a negative light but God is calling us to to GREAT things and be bold for Him — and most of the time those things require some chutzpah!
We need to be a bit more tenacious as believers. Is there something you feel God is calling you to do but others have been less than encouraging? Go for it! Be bold! Don’t let others dictate what you should or shouldn’t be doing — leave that to the Lord!
Psalms 138:8 The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.
Many of you know that we’ve been in Israel a little over four years now. I am still trying to adjust to the spiritual atmosphere, culture and language. Those few things, in and of themselves, are enough to become overwhelmed. But if that’s not enough, we are pioneering a new ministry here, trusting totally in God for His provision, trying to raise two young children in a way that is pleasing to Him and all the while, going through our own personal trials.
When we face difficult trials, often we get to feeling sorry for ourselves — we wallow in our self pity, thinking things like “I’m not worthy enough, not strong enough, not able enough, not adequate enough to get through these things — I just can’t do it!”
But hear the truth of God’s word today! HE will perfect that which concerns us! It is not us — it is HE who perfects us! It is HIS great strength and mercy that works through us, that allows us to be worthy, strong, able and adequate!
Let’s start giving to the Lord all those things which concern us. God will have the victory! There’s so much work to be done!!
Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Some time ago, two university students in Moorhead, Minnesota painted a mural on the wall outside their dorm room. It was of a school of fish all swimming in the same direction except for a single fish heading the opposite way. That one fish going the other direction was meant to be Jesus. Included in the mural were the words, “Go against the flow.” Sadly, university officials argued that the mural might offend non-Christians, and told the students to paint over it.
God has called us, as believers, to do things that sometimes go against the flow of the flow of the world around us. It’s not always easy, either.
Noah built an enormous ark at God’s command. Abraham took his only son to be sacrificed. Gideon went to war against thousands of enemies with only three hundred soldiers on his side. The disciples left all their possessions and followed the Lord. And there are countless other examples we have to follow!
Let’s choose to start swimming in the other direction today! Do that thing that God has been putting on your heart! Hug that person who’s been on your last nerve! Give away something you have to someone who needs it more! There are many mighty and miraculous victories that God desires to demonstrate in our lives, if we would only be willing to go against the flow!
Deut. 3:22 Ye shall not fear them: for the LORD your God he shall fight for you.
Today is a big day for the Negev. There will be a huge celebration marking the 90th anniversary of a great victory in Beersheva. On October 31st, 1917, six hundred soldiers of the Australian 4th and 12th Light Horse Brigade, under the command of Brigadier General William Grant led a daring attack against the Ottoman army in Beersheva.
Armed with only horses and bayonets — they charged the deeply entrenched Ottoman army. As machine guns fired, and men and horses were dying, the Lighthorsemen dug in their spurs and continued to press forward for victory. The bewildered enemy failed to adjust their sights and soon their gunfire was passing harmlessly overhead. Quickly, the lighthorsemen overran the Ottoman army and the battle was won in less than an hour. This is often described by historians as the last successful calvary charge in history.
Sometimes the battle around us seems overwhelming. We feel inadequately armed and too weak to attack. But with the Lord, we have the weapons we need and there will be victory!!! Not only that, the battle can be won quicker that we think! We need only press forward and put our trust in Him! A man with God at his side is an army undefeatable!
Let’s be courageous as we press forward for the Kingdom today! There’s so much work to be done!
Increase
Decrease