God’s Method
When you feel spiritually dry in
your prayer life, what do you do about it? For me personally, I go back and reread
spiritual classics and learn from spiritual giants. One of my go-to persons is
E. M. Bounds. His book, Power Through Prayer, begins this way[1]:
We are constantly on a stretch, if not on a
strain, to devise new methods, new plans, new organizations to advance the
Church and secure enlargement and efficiency for the gospel. This trend of the
day has a tendency to lose sight of the man or sink the man in the plan or
organization. God’s plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than of
anything else. Men are God’s method. The Church is looking for better
methods; God is looking for better men.
This book was written in 1913. But it is as relevant today as it was then. Persons – women and men – are God’s method. You and I are God’s method to advance God’s kingdom. The Bible says, “The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chronicles 16:9, NIV). God is always on the alert, constantly on the lookout for people who are totally committed to him (MSG).
Gideon and His 300 Men
In today’s scripture God found
Gideon, who was an unlikely candidate. He was hesitant, he was riddled with
self-doubt, he was nobody. When he was called, he said, “But Lord, how can I
save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my
family” (Judges 6:15). That’s how Gideon sees himself. But God sees Gideon’s
heart and says, “I am with you, and you are a mighty warrior” (6:12). God calls
him, equips him, molds him. Gideon slowly but steadily grows into the person
God wants him to be.
At first, when Gideon blew a trumpet, about 32,000 men stepped up. It is a good number of people. But compared to the Midianites, Israel was so outnumbered. Judges 7:12 says, “The Midianites, the Amalekites, and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.” They were the allied forces, and their numbers were countless. But, the Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands.” (7:2) Then, God commanded Gideon to tell the people, “Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave now.” So about 22,000 men left, and 10,000 remained. But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men!” Finally, God chose his 300 soldiers to save the entire Israel.
God does not save with numbers, but with the people who are willing and fully committed to him. Psalm 147:10-11 says, “[God] takes no delight in the strength of a horse, and gains no pleasure in the runner's swiftness. But the Lord is pleased with those who fear him, with those who depend on his gracious love” (ISV).
Hebrews 11, the faith chapter, testifies “the power of one.” By faith one person conquers kingdoms, by faith one person administers justice, by faith one person gains what has been promised, and by faith one person shuts the mouths of lions. As we start this new year and move forward as a church, let us not be concerned about numbers, saying, “How many people will step up?” Instead, let us ask ourselves, “Am I willing?” “Am I fully committed to God?”
Gideon and Christ
I don’t know about you, but for me,
I don’t trust myself. I am a planner. I used to enjoy making New Year’s goals
and resolutions. I no longer enjoy it, because I know I can’t carry on throughout
the year.
Gideon’s story is more than just a moral lesson. Gideon’s story is not just about imitating him and following his good quality. Gideon’s story ultimately points to Christ. Gideon foreshadows Jesus. Jesus Christ is the true and better and perfect Gideon. Just as Gideon was from a humble family, Jesus was born in a manger. Just as Gideon won the battles miraculously in his weakness through a small army, Jesus disarmed the evil forces, triumphing over sin and death through his sacrificial death on the cross (Col 2:15). By this victory, Jesus opened the door to new life to all who believe in him. So not by our willpower, but by the power of his Holy Spirit, we are able to live a victorious life.
It Starts with One
God still gives life through Jesus
Christ. God is still looking for Christians whose hearts are fully committed to
him today. It starts with one person or a small group of people. Once Henry
Varley, a close friend of D. L. Moody in the earlier days of his work, said to
Moody, “It remains to be seen what God will do with a person who gives himself
or herself up wholly to Him.” When Moody heard this, he said to himself, “Well,
I will be that man.” His heart was stirred and fully committed to God, and God
was able to use him.
At the age of 87, in his letter to one of his preachers, John Wesley wrote this way[2]:
“The danger of ruin to Methodism
does not lie here. It springs from quite a different quarter. Our preachers,
many of them, are fallen. They are not spiritual. They are not alive to God.
They are soft, enervated, fearful of shame, toil, hardship… Give me one hundred
preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a
straw whether they be clergymen or laymen, such alone will shake the gates of
hell and set up the kingdom of heaven upon earth.”
God found Gideon, whose heart was true to him, and used him to deliver his people. God is still looking for people who are totally committed to him. By faith, may we say, “Here I am, Lord. Use me, and send me to revive your people. So be it." Amen.
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