God
tends to choose the weak people of the world - those that the world despises - to
work in His service. He utilizes them to diminish or to advance issues that are
of importance to Him. He chooses the feeble, so we are an example of His
abundant strength (1 Corinthians 1:28).
Gideon
was just such a person. Gideon continually tested the word of the Lord, because
He doubted God's ability to use Him. He came from the tribe of Manasseh, the
weakest clan, and from the least family in that tribe.
God's
Spirit came upon Gideon, and inspired Him with a plan to deliver God's people
from the Midianites. Although this untrained army, from obscure families from
an indistinctive tribe, was outnumbered, and had no strong weapons of war, they
ended up winning the battle anyway.
We
often lose our faith in God's faithfulness, especially when our circumstances
seem hopeless and fatal already. However, if we will courageously surrender the
control of our life to Him, and dare to trust Him with the outcome, God will
perform great and mighty feats by our hand.
The
more mature we grow in our faith, the more certain we can testify that God always
works out everything for our good (Romans 8:28). Authentic Believers experience
this time and again, and our trust and confidence in our Father God grows more
sustainable over time.
When
we walk in God's Spirit and trust in the power of His might, we do not look to
our human resources to deliver us, but we put our faith only in the Lord God
Almighty (Isaiah 31:1). He is unconditionally faithful and loving to us, now
and always.
Prayer:
Father
God, You always use even our worse circumstances to prove Your love for us.
When we are the weakest, You are our strongest advocate, and You fight for us and
through us every step of the way (2 Corinthians 12:10). Thank You for Your everlasting
presence in our life. We will spend eternity praising Your name for who You
are, and all that You do for us each and every day.
We
need Your help in order to choose to die to sin through Christ, and to enjoy
our life hidden with Him in You. Remind us that life is not about worldly
possessions or social preeminence, but about dying to our self and living for
You (Philippians 1:21). In this world, we will experience tribulation and trials,
but Christ in us already overcame every one of them for us (John 16:33).
Thought
for the Day:
Teach
us meekness so we may inherit a place in Your Kingdom on this earth, and allow
patience to have her perfecting work in us; we are safe in You, and we will never
again fear what this world or anyone or anything in it may say about us or do
to us, because You are the strength of our life.
-
Matthew 5:5; James 1:4-8; John 10:27-29; Psalm 23; 1 Peter 4:4
