K4D Rising #4

[K4D]

I got this off the rejoice ministries website today. It is very inspirational to me.

Who Am I?

"The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?" "But Lord, "Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family." The LORD answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together." Judges 6:14-16

How many times have you asked God the very same thing that Gideon asked? Who am I? How can I save my family? I am weak. I am flawed. I am not worthy. I am the least important person in my beloved's life right now. Even my own family thinks I'm crazy. I don't think I can do this God. What does He answer? Go in the strength you have. I will be with you.

When you look at the huge set of circumstances you face, don't forget to look at your God; because He is right there with you offering His strong right hand to get you through. He's not just walking beside you; He's fighting for you. There is example after example in the Bible of what God's people can do when God is fighting for them. Look at Joshua and the walls of Jericho. Look at David and the Philistine, Goliath. Look at Hezekiah or Deborah or Nehemiah. Look at Gideon.

God's challenge to Gideon came at a time when Israel was once again at the bottom. The Midianites had been oppressing the Israelites, running raids from the hills, stealing their livestock and grain. They had even been forced to thresh their wheat in an area hidden from the marauders. In fact, this is exactly where Gideon was when the angel appeared to him - threshing his wheat in a winepress pit, hiding.

Are you down in that pit right now? Are you hiding from what God wants you to do? Do you have fear of your circumstances or fear of what other people will think or fear of failing? Do you feel like the odds against you are too great? Look at what God gave Gideon to work with!

"But the LORD said to Gideon, "There are still too many men...The LORD said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place." Judges 7:4,7

So God takes Gideon's army of 22,000 men and reduces it to 300. Can't you just hear Gideon now? If he protested that he was "the least" when the angel first spoke to him, can you imagine what he's thinking right now? I'm sure that warfare protocol at the time did not say take 300 men to fight thousands. But God did not want the Israelites to boast of their own strength. He wanted to show them His strength.

Are you facing overwhelming odds? Do you feel outnumbered and outmanned? Do you feel like you are facing an impossible battle? Is your heart's cry "Who am I Lord?" God wants you to know that impossible is not a word in His dictionary. He wants you to know that as He calls you, He equips you. He wants you to know that He has placed that promise in your heart and is ready to fight for you. He wants you to know that you can do this in His strength.

"With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall." Psalm 18:29

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

Now we have Gideon with his army of 300, his empty jars with torches inside, and his trumpets. He's getting ready to fight the Midianites. He has stepped over that faith line after a couple of "fleece" incidents but he still has fear. God knows this. There is a little bit of that "Who am I Lord" still left in Gideon's heart. So God allows him to overhear the dream that one of the Midianites had about the sword of Gideon. This is that final push that Gideon needed to step over that faith line and stay there.

God wants us to believe in His restoration promises but He knows how hard it is sometimes. So along the way, while we are saying, "Who am I Lord?" He gives us little nuggets of gold. He gives us the wet fleece and the dry fleece. He gives us the dreams and the visions. He shows us what is in the hearts of the ones we pray for. The whole time He is saying to us, "Go in the strength you have. I will be with you."

"Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, "A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!" While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled." Judges 7:19-21

Just as God gave this impossible victory to Gideon, so He will give us victory. Who are we? We are the men and women God has called to stand in the gap and pray for our families and our spouses. We are the men and women joined together to pray for the salvation of those we love. We are the Christians united in God's strength set to accomplish seemingly impossible tasks against overwhelming odds. We are the Gideons and God is with us.

"Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: "Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, O God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men, O LORD God. "What more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant, O LORD. For the sake of your servant and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made known all these great promises." 1 Chronicles 17:16-19

Kevin