I have been doing a women’s Bible study over Gideon lately.
Honestly, I didn’t know much about Gideon before the study, and I’ve learned a
few lessons during my time in this study. I saw many similarities between
Gideon and Jonah, and then realized that those same similarities were shared
between not only these two great prophets, but me as well.
Now, you probably
know more about Jonah, so we’ll start with him first. He was a guy who loved
God and wanted to serve God, but was anything but excited about where God was
sending him. I am a woman who loves God and wants to serve him, but am having a
hard time about where God has sent me. (No, this is not a pity party; this is
my life, good and bad.) Why there God? Why not this other place over here? They
need to know your truth also. Can I go there instead? Jonah and I were both
thinking this, knowing that God’s calling is clear. Jonah actually ran away
from God. Well… tried to. I’m not sure what he was thinking with that one. I’ve had a few people
tell me along this process that it must be nice that our family has such a
clear calling from God for our lives. Yes, it is great that we know we are
following His will, but that doesn’t mean that it’s butterflies and rainbows
every day. How would you like to be Jonah and go tell a huge group of people,
the Ninevites, that God was displeased with them and was ordering them to turn
from their evil ways? Jonah did it though. Did he have a good attitude?
Absolutely not. Terrible attitude actually. But, he still did what the Lord
called him to do.
Gideon was a little different. God came to Gideon while he
was hiding from the Midianites, a huge army inching in on Gideon’s town. Gideon
was threshing wheat inside a winepress rather than out on the threshing floor.
He did this because the Midianites were taking everything they could from
Israel. In simpler terms, Midian is the bully and Israel is the kid getting his
lunch taken every day. God came to Gideon and told him that he was going to
lead the army of Israelites that was going to overtake Midian. Gideon asked God
how that could happen, reminding God how strong and evil the Midianites were.
Gideon tested God several times, asking God to prove to him that He was who He
said He was, and that He was faithful. God, though He didn’t have to, appeased
Gideon and proved Himself in every one of Gideon’s tests. So, reluctantly,
Gideon agreed to lead Israel. He started with 32,000 men and ended up with 300.
As God weaned the number of the army smaller and smaller, Gideon continued to be
faithful. He went to battle for the Lord and was victorious. God followed
through with the promises that He made to Gideon- to protect, provide, and
bring victory.
As my family goes back to Spesterra, my hope is that I may have
faith like Gideon had. God didn’t tell Him everything at the beginning, but
Gideon walked forward each time God asked him to take another step. God was
able to use Gideon to show His faithfulness to His people, Israel, and to all
the other tribes and peoples that were watching in expectation. I hope that I
am faithful enough to God for Hms to use me. As Gideon began His journey with
the Lord, he was found hiding because he was so afraid of His enemy. God saw a
faithful follower and chose him in his weakness to bring glory to His name. My
hope is that we will all be faithful enough to the Lord to be able to walk
forward each time God asks us to take another step. And my hope for myself is
that, while it may be incredibly difficult some days, that I would not have an
attitude like Jonah, and that I would not test God like Gideon did, but that I
would be faithful to what God has called me, and, as 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
says, that I would “rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all
circumstances.”
