Gabbing with Gideon

One of my fave Old Testament people is Gideon.  His entire story only covers three short chapters in the book of Judges, but oh, the drama!  The suspense!  The Glory of God!  This man who starts out as nobody becomes one of the great heroes of the OT. 

I also really like him because, like me, he was hesitant to take those leaps of faith.  He seemed to need a little more reassurance than some.  He asked for signs, and God graciously gave them to him. 

His most famous sign was the whole wet-fleece-dry-ground/dry-fleece-wet-ground scenario.  I imagine asking him about that, and I can hear him say, “I was about to lead 32,000 men into battle.  I’d never lead as much as a cub scout pack before that.  I wanted to be absolutely sure I was hearing God correctly.

“Then God whittled down the army from 32,000 to 300 men.  I was to take those men against an army of 135,000.  To make matters worse, all we had were torches, clay pots and trumpets. No weapons.  Was I nervous?  You betcha!  But the Lord graciously gave me another sign, allowing me to overhear a conversation between two of the enemy soldiers.  He even had my servant come with me to confirm the words we heard in case I tried to convince myself I was imagining it.  The enemy army was terrified of us!

“Of course, God won the battle for us that night.  There can be no other explanation.  None.

“That was a turning point for me.  When I first met God he had called me a mighty warrior, but it wasn’t until after that battle that I finally felt the truth of it.  Now, I made my share of mistakes, but I never forgot that God is the only one who can save.” 

When God says to me, “Go in the strength you have.  Am I not sending you?  I will be with you,” I can remember the story of Gideon and how God often uses our least to accomplish his most.