Monday meditation: Another example showing us how God works
We may have as many questions as conclusions about the remarkable story in today’s text. Read Judges 7 and ponder what God did—and why. Here are four possible insights.
God works in ways we can’t explain. Why did God insist that Gideon use only a fraction of his army against the pagan Midianites? Why would God deny him the means to assure his success?
And why has God allowed disease to rob us caregivers of the hopes we had for the years ahead—all the partnership and pleasure and productivity? We have trouble offering an answer that doesn’t like denial. And yet some of us do see God working in ways we wouldn’t have acknowledged before this struggle.
God wants us to give him the credit. God answers the first of our questions, above, with his explanation to Gideon about reducing the size of his army. “If I let all of you fight the Midianites,“ God said, “the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength” (v. 2, NLT).
“Divide the men into two groups. In one group put all those who cup water in their hands and lap it up with their tongues like dogs. In the other group put all those who kneel down and drink with their mouths in the stream” (Judges 7:5).
So often, in my heart I’ve believed whatever I accomplished was by my own strength, even though I might have mouthed platitudes that claimed otherwise. But confronted with two incurable diseases, I’ve been driven to admit I have no control. And today I realize I never did. Whatever good or hopeful or happy my wife and I experience is by God’s hand.
God works in spite of our fear. God didn’t condemn any of Gideon’s soldiers for their fear. He just said, “If you’re afraid to fight, you can go home.” And he realized even Gideon might be afraid as he faced a massive force with only the 300 men God had left him. So God let him go on a spy mission to discover that his enemies had some doubts of their own.
We caregivers also have so much to fear. There’s an army of obstacles and potential problems ahead of us. Will we continue to have the health, the money, or the wisdom to give our loved ones all they need? It’s good to believe God won’t hold our fears against us. And what if he used them to help advance his purposes and do his will?
God works with little to accomplish much. All Moses had was a rod, but when he raised it, the waters parted. All David had was a stone, but it was enough to kill a menacing giant and disable the whole enemy army. Jesus submitted to the cross, and the plan to redeem all humankind was finished. Peter, the fisherman, had a sermon. Paul and Silas had hymns in a jail cell.
We may feel we can’t do much for God now that so much of our lives is consumed with caregiving. But we do well simply to offer what we have for God to use and then watch to see what happens.
God works when we do our part. Gideon was a clever strategist and a bold leader, as well as a man who sought God’s guidance. His plan to encircle the camp by surprise just after the changing of the guard was a good tactic. So was his decision to equip each soldier with a ram’s horn and a torch hidden in a jar to surprise and confuse the enemy at the moment of attack.
So, while trusting in God, I can give my all to the task at hand. While I’m seeking God’s guidance and admitting I’m hopeless without it, I can study and decide what’s best to do next. I can research, seek advice, and remember what went well and what didn’t.
God could have defeated the Midianites without Gideon’s little army blowing their horns at midnight. But he almost never operates that way. Instead, he works through us as we trust him in our difficult situations. I can believe he’ll show up in my life when I give my best to the tasks at hand.
Read: Judges 7:1-23
Pray: Heavenly Father, we have doubts, confusion, and fear about the path we’re walking and the battle we’re fighting. Thank you, not only for working through Gideon, but also for using his story to remind us you may someday surprise us, too.
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