I was about to write about Esther this week, when I looked back over my records and discovered I had written about her only a few months ago. If you were looking forward to more about Esther, here are the links to not one, but two Memos with her as the subject. Instead of Esther, I am going to move on to focus on the purpose story of Gideon for the next two weeks.
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Have you ever thought or said, "If only I knew that God wanted me to do this or that," or "If only God would direct me to do something, then I would certainly do it!"? While it sounds logical and spiritual, it isn't necessarily true, as we will see in this Memo. Who do you think I will pick from the Bible as a character to prove this point? If you guessed Gideon, you guessed correctly.
IT CAN'T BE ME!
In Judges 6, we see that the angel of the Lord came to give Gideon his assignment of liberating the Jews from the Midianites. Gideon was not so ready to accept his purpose, however, and explained to the angel why he (Gideon) could not be the one - God must have made a mistake. Gideon felt that circumstances were too overwhelming and he was too insignificant to do what God was commissioning him to do. I'm sure you have never felt like this - or have you?
Perhaps you have calmly explained to God and others all the reasons why you are not the one to accomplish some great purpose. You have pointed out that you are too young, too old, the wrong gender, under-educated, inexperienced, and without adequate resources. Even though you too may have had an angel of the Lord visit you, you have dismissed the call as next to impossible, saying something similar to what Gideon said: "But Lord." Gideon asked, "How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family" (Judges 6:15). This proves that it isn't always the case that if God speaks to you, you will automatically embrace and go on to do His will.
TWO KEYS
God shared with Gideon two keys to success. Those keys worked for Gideon and they will work for you. The first key is found in Judges 6:14: "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?" Gideon felt like he needed more strength if he was to go; the Lord told him to go in the strength that he had and it would be enough.
You can substitute many words for "strength" in that verse and they would all be keys to purposeful success. "Go in the time you have; go in the wisdom you have; go in the knowledge you have; go with the gifts you have; go in the faith you have; go with the money you have." You won't get more of anything in the way of help from God until you create the need for it, so it's best to start right where you are today and obey God with what you have now. Then God will give you the rest.
The second key is found in verse 16: "The Lord answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together." When God speaks to you to do something, you become a partner with God. You and God always comprise an insurmountable majority, no matter how improbable your success may seem to you at the start. Whatever you lack, God has in abundance. You provide the legs and heart, He provides the strength and success.
There you have it. You see that it may not be enough for God to speak to you, for your bias against yourself and your abilities may try to overrule God. If you are to go and do anything, you must go in the strength you have today, but you can go in the confidence that God goes with you. If you can remember to use those keys this week, I know you will have a turnaround week.
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