- SHACKLE BREAKERS
- Posts
- God's Unlikely Hero - You.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.
God Calls the Unlikely…
Gideon and his family’s lives are in danger.
Reduced to near starvation, Gideon sneaks into his winepress, hoping the Midianites do not catch wind of what he’s up to.
He takes one last peek over the side of the winepress to make sure no one is watching and hurriedly begins threshing what wheat is remaining from their continuous raids.
It is precisely this moment that Gideon hears the call of God…
Mighty hero, the LORD is with you!
God calls Gideon - “I am sending you” (to rescue Israel).
But first - did you catch it?
Gideon fears that the Midianites might take his very last meal, but the angel of the LORD calls to him, “Mighty hero”!
Maybe we can dig into that another time. 😀
꠨
But before getting caught up in recalling the great conquests of Gideon from Sunday School, let’s dig into this pre-story.
Gideon is doing all he can for his family and they’re just getting by… maybe less than getting by.
Tbh, it seems he’s barely hanging on.
Upon hearing the Lord’s calling, he struggles with why God would call him.
“But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!”
But as you may recall - “the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him“ (2 Chronicles 16:9 KJV)
And God is choosing to do this in Gideon.
What Does Being Called Look Like
So here are a few things I gleaned from God’s call to Gideon that I found really helpful
God calls us where we are
Gideon’s circumstances do not look much different from our own.
We’re trying to make ends meet, taking care of our families, paying the bills, and putting food on the table.
God shows up as we simply go faithfully about our days.
God’s calling is sure
We believe in the God “who gives life to the dead, and calls the things that are not, as though they were“.
The angel of the LORD refers to Gideon as the Mighty Hero - even before he has answered God’s call or had proven that he was.
It is God who accomplishes our calls
It requires faith
One thing is for certain, regardless of how miraculous God’s call comes to us, it will require faith for us to move forward in it.
The angel of the LORD tells Gideon to go “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”
For us, it takes taking a step of faith in the direction of God’s calling
For Gideon, he brings a sacrifice to the LORD and the angel of the LORD touches it with his staff. It is consumed and the angel disappears.
It is after this interaction that Gideon builds an altar.
It’s not unusual to doubt or need assurance or even confirmation
Multiple times during Gideon's story to us, we see that he is struggling with doubt - how will this work, how will he know that God is going to do this?
God is gracious to him to help him grow in his confidence.
Gideon takes steps to ask, “God are you really calling me here?”
I think what astounds me the most is sometimes God makes it look impossible from a worldly sense (whittling his arm down to just 300 men).
Gideon needs to trust those earlier confirmations, while at the same time encouraging him as he listens to how afraid the Midianites are.
What God wants
God receives glory when you do the work he has called you to
God will stretch your faith - you might want to quit or give up but he asks you to keep going
God cares enough to allow you to see the work he is doing. God let’s Gideon hear the conversations in the Midianite camp - this encourages him
God does not always give the same grace to others around you who don’t understand why you are doing what you’re doing - Gideon tears down the Asherah pole and burns it - they do not understand what God is doing in Gideon’s life.
God works unconventionally - you may find success in your calling through means that are outside of the tried and true paths. In Gideon’s case, God accomplishes more with a smaller army
Flat out everyone’s calling is messy at first - and that’s ok - say it - it’s ok.
Sure our calls might not be as great or renowned as Gideon’s.
But don’t despise the days of small beginnings my friend. (Zech 4:10)
Final Thoughts…
Are you being called by God? Is he leading you into something? Here are some things for you to consider…
Believe God - take steps of faith (even small ones)
Test the waters - is this what You would have me do LORD?
Be mindful that your calling may seem risky or scary to others
Follow God’s lead and pray!
God is glorified in your steps of faith and proves himself to be faithful