IS IT ENOUGH? GIDEON

S26 IS IT ENOUGH? GIDEON

Sometimes I’ve wondered if I was doing enough for God. Was I doing enough for the world? I told the Lord, “What I do is put out weekly Preach Letters, and I pray a particular prayer every day to rid the world of the spiritual “rulers of the darkness of this world” (Eph.6:12). But being a 60s child, I sometimes got tempted to think maybe what I’m doing now is too small. Should I be out there protesting or going to rallies like I did in the 60s and 70s?

 

But the Lord’s answer was always the same: “No, you are doing exactly what I want you to do, and you are changing the world from right where you are, and I’ll show you if there’s more.” I was satisfied with His answer, even though I can’t tell you how often I asked Him to repeat it! I’m sure some of you have asked the same questions: Am I doing enough? What else can I do? Lord, what is it you want me to do?

 

There are just some things we’ll not be able to get fully answered until we go through them. We’ve heard the phrase: “There’s a reason for everything.” But the second half of that should be: “But we don’t get to know all the reasons ahead of time.” That’s where trust and pure obedience come in. The story of Gideon and his small band of Bible heroes teaches us about trusting God, doing what He says, and seeing the great results we never knew would be our destiny.

 

The story of Gideon's life begins with God allowing the Israelites to be dominated for seven years by the Midianites. Why? Because “the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord” (Judg. 6:1), The Midianites were a wandering band of nomads who, with help from the Amalekites and others, would make regular attacks on the Israelites. 

 

“They encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it” (Judg. 6:4-5).

 

The Israelites were hiding in caves, and they were in poverty. So God sent an angel to a young man named Gideon, who was threshing wheat near a winepress to avoid detection at the time of the angel’s visit. The angel came to him and said: “The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour” (Judg. 6:12). Gideon was only a young man, definitely not a man of valour. But God saw him differently from how he saw himself. And that’s an excellent lesson for us. We must see ourselves through the eyes of the Lord only.

 

Then Gideon questioned: “Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites” (v.13).

 

But the angel didn’t bother to explain why it was happening. He just told Gideon what to do next and said: “Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?” (v.14)

 

“And he [Gideon] said unto him, ‘Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.’ And the Lord said unto him, ‘Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man’” (vv.15-16).

 

Judges 8:10 tells us that the enemy had 135,000 fighting men! (Judg. 8:10). Gideon only had 32,000.

“The Lord said unto Gideon, ‘The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, ‘Mine own hand hath saved me.’

 

“Now, therefore, go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead’. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand” (Judg. 7:2-3).

 

So, out of 32,000 men, 22,000 turned back! Now Gideon only had 10,000 to fight the 135,000 enemy soldiers. But God knew something more about those men who remained. Though they may have thought they were ready to fight, God knew better. So the Lord instructed Gideon to give the 10,000 men a simple test.

 

“And the Lord said unto Gideon, ‘The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.’

 

“So he brought down the people unto the water: and the Lord said unto Gideon, ‘Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.”

 

“And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.”

 

“And the Lord said unto Gideon, ‘By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place” (vv.4-7). 

 

I never understood the big deal about two different ways of drinking water. But a Christian friend explained it to me. If a person goes down to drink water and brings it up to his mouth, he can still be on guard with his eyes looking out for the enemy. But if a person gets down on his knees and slurps the water, his eyes would not look out, but down! So out of the 10,000 men, only 300 were truly battle-ready!

 

Gideon may have been apprehensive, to say the least, about going against a multitude of blood-thirsty enemies with such a small number of men, but God knew what He was doing. So Gideon trusted and obeyed, and he saved the whole nation of Israel.

 

“Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon” (Judg. 8:28).

 

With God, it’s never about the numbers; it’s about a person’s heart. So we have to get used to doing spiritual things without always having to know why. And if we sometimes feel we are less than able, remember this story of Gideon. It’s not about the big numbers; it’s about each of us doing our small part to stay alert, trust, and obey. That’s how the world becomes a better place. Because of that young man’s heart and willingness to trust and obey, the whole nation of Israel had true peace in the land for 40 years.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

If you have mature children, family members, or friends who might like to receive my Preach Letters via email, let me know. carolynmolica@hotmail.com

 

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ANGELS, DREAMS, SIGNS, AND WONDERS

ANGELS, DREAMS, SIGNS, AND WONDERS

How do you “hear” from the Lord? Have you ever had an angel come to give you a message? Does the Lord sometimes give you a message through a dream or an open vision? How about a wonder? The Lord has many ways to get our attention, and it’s good to remind ourselves of the different ways He’s communicated with us in the past. But if you are wishing that He would talk to you more, I have a suggestion.

 

I’ve found it helpful to go to the Bible and check out the various ways He’s communicated to others. It gives us an idea of what we might pray for and believe to receive. Like it says in Matthew 7:8: “For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” And when I am claiming something from the scripture, I like to follow it with the words of Mary, the mother of Jesus: “Be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38).

 

Today, I want to take you to the story of Gideon. God used a combination of ways to communicate with Gideon, so if we pay attention, we’ll learn a lot about how our Lord is willing to communicating with us too.

 

The people of God had turned away from Him, leaving themselves open to oppression. When their way of living was demolished, they finally turned back to God and cried out for help. It’s recorded in Judges 6 - 9. For brevity’s sake, I won’t go over every verse, but I hope you’ll read it for yourself as soon as you can.

 

“And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them” (Judg. 6:3).

 

“They came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord” (vv. 5-6)

 

Enter, an angel from God, to begin the deliverance of His people:

 

“And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak” (v. 11) “And said [to Gideon], ‘Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites” (v. 14). 

 

This next verse is important for us to remember for later when God gives Gideon a message from a dream.

 

“And he [Gideon] said unto him, ‘Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house’” (v. 15)

 

Then Gideon asks God to give him a sign that all of this about him being a hero is for real:

 

“And the Lord said unto him, ‘Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. And he said unto him, ‘If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me. (vv. 16-17).

 

Up to this point, Gideon thinks that this person who came to him is actually a flesh and blood man who is delivering a message from God. Gideon wants to know if the message is really from God, so he asks for some kind of a sign. He then tells the “man” to wait while he goes and prepares a meal for him. When he brings the meal back out to the person he thought was a man, a very interesting thing happens:

 

“The angel of God [who Gideon thought was a man], said unto him, ‘Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth.’ And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes.

 

“Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. And Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord” (vv. 20-22)

 

So, Gideon got his prayer answered and God gave him the first sign that he asked for. We need to realize that God is more than willing to give us whatever it is that we need, to carry out our missions for Him. We may be the ones who pray the perfect prayer for our neighborhood, or we may be the perfect person to speak to the parent/teacher group. Whatever it is that God is urging us to do, we can do it, but God never expects us to do it alone. He will give us an angel, a sign, a dream, a wonder, whatever it takes to help us to be the heroes He’s called us to be.

 

Then later in the story, it’s time to actually go into battle. All the Israelites are enthused and ready to go for it, but God tells Gideon no. God can’t let everyone do the fighting because He knows they are too egotistical.

 

“And the Lord said unto Gideon, ‘The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, ‘Mine own hand hath saved me’” (Judg. 7:2).

 

God showed Gideon how to minimize the number of soldiers from the 10,000 he had, down to only 300!

 

“And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude” (7:12).

 

Gideon must have been terrified at this point, or at least hesitant about taking only 300 soldiers against a huge multitude of enemies. And this is where God sends Gideon a message through another man’s dream.

 

“And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, ‘Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along. 

 

When Gideon heard this man recite his dream, Gideon knew instantly that it was another message from God for him. Remember how Gideon responded to when the angel first came to him? He said: “My family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house” (Judg. 6:15). Barley for the Israelites was considered poor men’s bread. So when Gideon heard this dream, he knew that the cake of barley bread that would take down the Midianites was none other than he himself and his mere troop of 300 men. Finally, Gideon was totally convinced.

 

“And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, ‘Arise; for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian” (7: 13-15).

  

Gideon and his 300 men went on to defeat the enemy and there was peace in the land for the next forty years.

 

We see with Gideon that God was willing to communicate in many different supernatural ways. The Lord is no less compassionate toward us. We’re all heroes like Gideon in His eyes, and all worthy of angel visits, signs, miracles, wonders, dreams, and visions, all to the glory of our God and to bless us as individuals.

 

You’ll really enjoy reading Judges 6-9 for the whole story.

 

Love, Carolyn 

 

I have a variety of books and booklets on living a more spiritual Christian life. I know you can find something great that will resonate with you. 😊

 

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GIDEON

GIDEON AND HIS SMALL BAND OF BIBLE HEROES

There are just some things we’re not going to be able to figure out or understand until we go through them. We’ve heard the phrase, “there’s a reason for everything.” But the second half of that should be, “but we don’t get to know all the reasons ahead of time.” That’s where trust comes in. The story of Gideon and his small band of Bible heroes teaches us about trusting God, doing what He says, and seeing the great results we never knew were going to be our destiny.

 

The Midianites were destroying the land. The Israelites were hiding in caves, and they were in poverty. Gideon was threshing some wheat to conceal it from the Midianites, when an angel came to him and said: “The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour” (Judges 6:12). At the time, Gideon was only a young man, definitely not a man of valour. But God saw him differently from how he saw himself.

 

Then Gideon questioned: “Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites” (v.13).

 

But the angel didn’t bother to explain why it was happening. He just told Gideon what to do next, and said: “Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?” (v.14)

 

“And he [Gideon] said unto him, ‘Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.’ And the Lord said unto him, ‘Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man’” (vv.15-16).

 

Thirty-two thousand men gathered to fight the Midianites, but God is not impressed by big numbers.

 

“The Lord said unto Gideon, ‘The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, ‘Mine own hand hath saved me.’

 

“Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead’. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand” (Judg. 7:2-3).

 

So, out of 32,000 men, 22,000 turned back! Now Gideon only had 10,000 to fight the multitude of Midianite warriors. But God knew something more about those men who remained. Though they may have thought they were ready to fight, God knew better. The Lord instructed Gideon to give the 10,000 men a simple test.

 

“And the Lord said unto Gideon, ‘The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.’

 

“So he brought down the people unto the water: and the Lord said unto Gideon, ‘Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.”

 

“And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.”

 

“And the Lord said unto Gideon, ‘By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place” (vv.4-7). 

 

I never understood the big deal about two different ways of drinking water. But Chris, one of my work friends, explained it to me today. If a person goes down to drink water and brings it up to his mouth, he can still be on guard with his eyes looking out for the enemy. But if a person gets down on his knees and slurps the water, his eyes would not be looking out, but down! Out of the 10,000 men, only 300 were truly battle-ready!

 

Gideon may have been apprehensive, to say the least, about going against a multitude of blood-thirsty enemies with such a small number of men, but God knew what He was doing. Gideon trusted and obeyed, and he saved the whole nation of Israel.

 

“Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon” (Judg. 8:28).

 

We have to get used to doing spiritual things without always having to know why. And if we sometimes feel we are less than able, welcome to the band of Bible heroes. It’s not about the big numbers; it’s about each one of us doing our small part to stay alert, to trust, and to obey THE Lord our God.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

THE STORY OF GIDEON

THE STORY OF GIDEON

This morning Jane and I were talking about what each of us does to make the world we live in a better place. Jane puts out her intel report daily to interested people who want to know what’s going on in politics, vaccines, human trafficking, financial situations, etc., worldwide. What I do is put out weekly preach letters, and I pray a particular prayer every day to rid the world of the spiritual “rulers of the darkness of this world” (Eph.6:12). Being a 60s child, I sometimes get tempted to think maybe what I’m doing now is too small. Should I be out there protesting and going to rallies like I did in the 60s and 70s? But the Lord’s answer is always the same: “No, you are doing exactly what I want you to do, and you are changing the world from right where you are.” And I’m perfectly satisfied with His answer, even though I can’t tell you how often I have to ask to hear Him repeat it! I’m sure some of you are asking the same questions: Am I doing enough? What else can I do? Lord, what is it You want me to do?

 

There are just some things we’ll not be able to get fully answered until we go through them. We’ve heard the phrase: “There’s a reason for everything.” But the second half of that should be: “But we don’t get to know all the reasons ahead of time.” That’s where trust and pure obedience come in. The story of Gideon and his small band of Bible heroes teaches us about trusting God, doing what He says, and seeing the great results we never knew would be our destiny.

 

The story of the life of Gideon begins with God allowing the Israelites to be dominated, for seven years, by the Midianites. Why? Because “the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord” (Judg. 6:1). The Midianites were a wandering band of nomads who, with help from the Amalekites and others, would make regular attacks on the Israelites. 

 

“They encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it” (Judg. 6:4-5).

 

The Israelites were hiding in caves, and they were in poverty. So God sent an angel to a young man named Gideon, who was threshing wheat near a winepress to avoid detection at the time of the angel’s visit. The angel came to him and said: “The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour” (Judg. 6:12). Gideon was only a young man, definitely not a man of valour. But God saw him differently from how he saw himself. And that’s an excellent lesson for us. We must see ourselves through the eyes of the Lord only.

 

Then Gideon questioned: “Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites” (v.13).

 

But the angel didn’t bother to explain why it was happening. He just told Gideon what to do next and said: “Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?” (v.14)

 

“And he [Gideon] said unto him, ‘Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.’ And the Lord said unto him, ‘Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man’” (vv.15-16).

 

Judges 8:10 tells us that the enemy had 135,000 fighting men! (Judg. 8:10). Gideon only had 32,000.

“The Lord said unto Gideon, ‘The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, ‘Mine own hand hath saved me.’

 

“Now, therefore, go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead’. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand” (Judg. 7:2-3).

 

So, out of 32,000 men, 22,000 turned back! Now Gideon only had 10,000 to fight the 135,000 enemy soldiers. But God knew something more about those men who remained. Though they may have thought they were ready to fight, God knew better. So the Lord instructed Gideon to give the 10,000 men a simple test.

 

“And the Lord said unto Gideon, ‘The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.’

 

“So he brought down the people unto the water: and the Lord said unto Gideon, ‘Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.”

 

“And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.”

 

“And the Lord said unto Gideon, ‘By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place” (vv.4-7). 

 

I never understood the big deal about two different ways of drinking water. But Chris, one of my work friends, explained it to me. If a person goes down to drink water and brings it up to his mouth, he can still be on guard with his eyes looking out for the enemy. But if a person gets down on his knees and slurps the water, his eyes would not look out but down! So out of the 10,000 men, only 300 were truly battle-ready!

 

Gideon may have been apprehensive, to say the least, about going against a multitude of blood-thirsty enemies with such a small number of men, but God knew what He was doing. So Gideon trusted and obeyed, and he saved the whole nation of Israel.

 

“Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon” (Judg. 8:28).

 

With God, it’s never about the numbers; it’s about a person’s heart. So we have to get used to doing spiritual things without always having to know why. And if we sometimes feel we are less than able, remember this story of Gideon. It’s not about the big numbers; it’s about each of us doing our small part to stay alert, trust, and obey. That’s how the world becomes a better place. Because of that young man’s heart and willingness to trust and obey, the whole nation of Israel had true peace in the land for 40 years.

 

We’re looking forward to at least that many and more.  

Love, Carolyn

 

If you have mature children, family members, or friends who would like to get my Preach Letters, let me know. 😊

 

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ANGLES, DREAMS, SIGNS, AND WONDERS

 ANGELS, DREAMS, SIGNS, AND WONDERS

In the last couple of weeks I‘ve shown you a little about what normal looks like in the Bible. I’ve shown you something about angels, dreams, and open visions. Today I want to show you where God used a combination of these along with signs and wonders to get important messages to a man named Gideon. The people of God had turned away, leaving themselves open to oppression. When their way of living was demolished, they finally turned back to God and cried out for help. It’s recorded in Judges 6 - 9. For brevity’s sake, I won’t go over every verse, but I hope you’ll read it for yourself as soon as you can.

 

“And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them” (Judg. 6:3).

 

“They came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord” (vv. 5-6)

 

Enter, an angel from God, to begin the deliverance of His people:

 

“And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak” (v. 11) “And said [to Gideon], ‘Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites” (v. 14). 

 

This next verse is important for us to remember for later when God gives Gideon a message from a dream.

 

“And he [Gideon] said unto him, ‘Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house’” (v. 15)

 

Now here comes another Biblical normal: Gideon asks God to give him a sign that all of this about him being a hero is for real:

 

“And the Lord said unto him, ‘Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. And he said unto him, ‘If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me. (vv. 16-17).

 

Up to this point, Gideon thinks that this person who came to him is actually a flesh and blood man who is delivering a message from God. Gideon wants to know if the message is really from God, so he asks for some kind of a sign. He then tells the “man” to wait while he goes and prepares a meal for him. When he brings the meal back out to the person he thought was a man, a very interesting thing happens:

 

“The angel of God [who Gideon thought was a man], said unto him, ‘Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth.’ And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes.

 

“Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. And Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord” (vv. 20-22)

 

So, Gideon got his prayer answered and God gave him the first sign that he asked for. We need to realize that God is more than willing to give us whatever it is that we need, to carry out our missions for Him. We may be the ones who pray the perfect prayer for our neighborhood, or we may be the perfect person to speak to the parent/teacher group. Whatever it is that God is urging us to do, we can do it, but God never expects us to do it alone. He will give us an angel, a sign, a dream, a wonder, whatever it takes to help us to be the heroes He’s called us to be.

 

Then later in the story, it’s time to actually go into battle. All the Israelites are enthused and ready to go for it, but God tells Gideon no. God can’t let everyone do the fighting because He knows they are too egotistical.

 

“And the Lord said unto Gideon, ‘The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, ‘Mine own hand hath saved me’” (Judg. 7:2).

 

God showed Gideon how to minimize the number of soldiers down to only 300.

 

“And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude” (7:12).

 

Gideon must have been terrified at this point, or at least hesitant about taking only 300 soldiers against a huge multitude of enemies. And this is where God sends Gideon a message through another man’s dream.

 

“And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, ‘Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along. 

 

When Gideon heard this man tell about his dream, Gideon knew instantly that it was another message from God for him. Remember how Gideon responded to when the angel first came to him? He said, “My family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house” (Judg. 6:15). Barley for the Israelites was considered poor men’s bread. So when Gideon heard this dream, he knew that the cake of barley bread that would take down the Midianites was none other than he himself and his mere troop of 300 men. Finally, Gideon was totally convinced.

 

“And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, ‘Arise; for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian” (7: 13-15).

 

 

Gideon and his 300 men went on to defeat the enemy and there was peace in the land for the next forty years.

 

It took a lot of supernatural things to convince Gideon to go ahead with God’s plan, but God didn’t complain, He just kept giving. God is no less compassionate toward us. We’re all heroes like Gideon in His eyes, and all worthy of angel visits, signs, miracles, wonders, dreams, and visions, all to the Glory of our God.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

HIS WAYS ARE ABOVE OURS

HIS WAYS ARE ABOVE OURS

Jaden was the perfect candidate for leadership. He met the requirements, participated in all the meetings, and added real insight and help to the other members. Several of the leaders recommended him, and it looked like a lock. But when the final job interview came, he was denied. Why? God, why?

There are just some things we’re not going to be able to figure out or understand. God is all-knowing. But we are not, and we can’t figure it out with reasoning or logic. We’ve heard the common phrase, “there’s a reason for everything.” But the second half of that should be, “but we don’t get to know all the reasons.” God is always going to know more than we do. He sees the bigger picture beyond what we can see.

Job 9:10 says He “doeth great things past finding out.”

That’s where trust comes in. With faith and obedience, there’s always going to be some unanswered questions: “Why?” “How?” “When?” We trust and obey from our hearts, not our minds. Our minds are too small to handle all the data it takes to answer every question all at once.

We have problems at times waiting on God and trusting Him. But we’re not the only ones. Take a look at Gideon.

The Midianites were destroying the land. The Israelites were hiding in caves, and they were in poverty. Gideon was threshing some wheat to conceal it from the Midianites, when an angel came to him and said: “The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour” (Judges 6:12). At the time, Gideon was only a young man, definitely not a man of valour. But God saw him as different from how he saw himself.

Then Gideon questioned: “Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites” (v.13).

But the angel didn’t bother to explain why it was happening. He just told Gideon what to do next, and said: “Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?” (v.14)

“And he [Gideon] said unto him, ‘Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.’ And the Lord said unto him, ‘Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man’” (vv.15-16).

Detail by detail, God guided Gideon. The fascinating battle strategies, the beliefs, the errors, the loves and losses, and more, are all recorded in Judges 6-8. It’s amazing to read it all. Gideon trusted and obeyed, and he saved Israel. “Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon” (Judges 8:28).

We have to get used to doing spiritual things without always having to know why. The spirit of God urges us, and our job is to obey. We read the Bible or let someone else teach us from the Bible as to what God does, and what He’s really like.

Daniel 4:35 says: “He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’”  God doesn’t have to tell us. But He does let us know He has a good plan for us, so just do the next thing and trust Him.

Jaden did the next thing God opened for him. He later found out that the company he had applied for was corrupt. Because of his integrity, he wouldn’t have lasted there even if he’d gotten the job.

So many things are like that; we don’t find out until later why our prayers weren’t answered in the way we had expected or in the time frame we were wanting. However, we see in the Bible, that everyone who trusted God and just obeyed, got great results, whether or not they understood the why and wherefore.

Love, Carolyn

FREE TODAY THRU TUESDAY. On AMAZON, or email me if you’d like a free pdf or word doc: cjmolica@hotmail.com.

https://www.amazon.com/WINGS-Journey-Faith-Sample-Miracles-ebook/dp/B00BMW8Y7Q/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1547858605&sr=8-15&keywords=wings+carolyn+molica

In this sample booklet I’ve chosen 6 chapters specifically about miracles. In our world today we sometimes get so involved in medicines and technology that we forget about the bigness of God in providing the miraculous. These stories remind us to think BIGGER.

Chapters:

JESUS GETS TO THE ROOTS

CALLING THE DOG

GOD’S SPIRIT TOUCHES OUR SPIRIT

PUPPY HEALED DOG

MIRACLE OF BETTER EYESIGHT

BLACK ICE

ANGELS AND MOTHERS

THINGS WE DON'T UNDERSTAND

THINGS WE DON’T UNDERSTAND

Janice was the perfect candidate for leadership. She met the basic requirements, participated in all the meetings and added real insight and help to the other members. Several of the leaders recommended her, and it looked like a lock. But when the final job interview came, she was denied. Why God? Why? There are just some things we’re not going to be able to figure out or understand. God is all-knowing. But we are not, and we can’t figure it out with reasoning or logic. We’ve heard the phrase, “There’s a reason for everything.” But the second half of that should be, “But we don’t get to know all the reasons.” The Lord is always going to know more than we do. He sees the bigger picture beyond what we can see.

Job 9:10 says He “doeth great things past finding out.”

That’s where trust comes in. With trust and obedience, there’s always going to be some unanswered questions: “Why, God?” “How?” “When?” We trust and obey from our hearts, not our minds. Our minds are too small to handle all the data it takes to answer every question all at once.

We have problems at times waiting on God and trusting Him. But we’re not the only ones. Take a look at Gideon.

The Midianites were destroying the land. The Israelites were hiding in caves, and they were in poverty. Gideon was threshing some wheat to hide it from the Midianites when an angel came to him and said: “The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour” (Judges 6:12).

Then Gideon questioned: “But if the Lord is helping us, then why have all of these awful things happened? And where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of?” (v. 13). But the angel didn’t bother to explain why it was happening. He just told Gideon what to do next, and said: “Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites” (v. 14).

One vitally important thing we need to tell ourselves over and over is that we are important to the Lord. He doesn’t want to lose us. Just because the Lord doesn’t explain things to us all the time, doesn’t mean we’ve done something wrong, or that we are not worthy. Most Christians are way too quick to feel guilty for something and get fearful. But we are the Lord’s mighty ones, wherever we go, whatever we do. It took an angel to come to Gideon and set him straight, reminding him of who he was in God’s eyes. But we can also do this for ourselves, and we probably need to do it more often.

Daniel 4:35 says: “He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’” We need to let God be God. He doesn’t have to tell us everything. He tells us He has a good plan for us and sometimes that’s all we need to know and then just keep trusting and doing the next thing.

Janice did the next thing God opened for her. She later found out that the company she had applied for was corrupt. Because of her integrity, she wouldn’t have lasted there even if she’d gotten the job.

So many things are like that; we don’t find out until later why our prayers weren’t answered in the way we had expected or in the time frame we were wanting. However, we see in the instruction book (the Bible) that everyone who trusted God and just obeyed, got great results, whether or not they understood the why and wherefore.

A word of caution: Many have listened to and obeyed their preachers and pastors without really verifying their actions or beliefs with the Word of God. We want to make sure we are trusting God, not just what some TV evangelist says. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). You don’t need a pastor to tell you what to do. Those of us who minister in the capacity of gift ministries are there to help, but God says: “The Spirit himself speaks to our spirits and makes us sure” (Rom. 8:16). We’ve sometimes trusted more in our teachers than in God and His Word.

Even though we may not know why things happen sometimes, the good thing is we have eternity to catch up on everything we couldn’t figure out. Meanwhile, we trust the Lord; and we bravely confess that we are His mighty ones; and we obey what we believe He is telling us is the next step. We let God be God and then we see the greatness of what He wants to do in our lives.

Love, Carolyn

FREE THRU TUESDAY

SAMPLE BOOK : COMMITMENT

http://www.amazon.com/WINGS-Journey-Faith-Sample-Commitment-ebook/dp/B00KBAKRZ2/ref=as_sl_pc_as_ss_li_til?tag=jmbcsds-20&linkCode=w01&linkId=4d043017c1421df8db964fa151b20470&creativeASIN=B00KBAKRZ2

NOTE: This SAMPLE book contains 6 of the 61 chapters taken from the complete book.

CHAPTERS

1.  GOING THROUGH THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE

2.  COULDN’T STOMACH IT? LET IT GO

3.  PREACH YOURSELF HAPPY

4.  BEING LIKE BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN

5.  SEEING IN NEW WAYS

HOLIDAY CHAPTER

THANKSGIVING – RECEIVING YOUR HARVEST

DON'T BE AFRAID

    

DON’T BE AFRAID

Upheaval and churning is upon us, but God says: “Don’t be afraid.” Everyone who calls on Him is covered by His love and grace. Isaiah 41:10 says: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” But what about when it doesn’t look like this is happening? Gideon was wondering about this. The children of Israel were taken over by the Midianites. They had to hide anything they wanted to keep because the Midianites would see it and take it. Gideon was threshing some wheat, getting ready to hide it when “the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, ‘The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor’” (Judges 6:12).

Gideon responded, “Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where be all the miracles which our fathers told us of? But now the Lord hath forsaken us.”

The angel “looked upon him, and said, ‘Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have I not sent thee?’” (v. 14). This is so awesome.

The Lord didn’t tell him to do someone else’s job. He told him to go in “his” might. God only wants us to do what’s in “our might” and believe that we can do what He’s asking.

Gideon looked at this challenge from a natural, rational point of view and told the angel that he wasn’t really able to do this thing God was asking, because his family was the poorest and he himself was too young.

But the angel pushed him: “Because I’m with you, you’ll defeat the Midianites as if they were just one person” (v. 16). This took quite a leap of faith for Gideon. He was looking at this idea of changing his life around, from a totally logical natural way of thinking. But the angel was pushing him to see it from God’s point of view. All things, wild things, amazing miraculous things are available in the spiritual world, that can and do change our lives for the better, if we take a step of faith.

I’m sure we can all relate to Gideon when it comes to turning our situations around for the better. We want others to make things different for us, but then the Lord has the nerve to tell us we are to actually do something to change things. We come up with rationalizations, excuses and downright fears as to why we just can’t.

And here’s where the most amazing and kind heart of God comes in. He lets us freely challenge Him. He so wants us to believe, that He is willing to answer our doubts and unbelief. He knows we are sometimes weak in our believing and His love overrides any rolling of His eyes and shrugging of His big shoulders because of our hesitations.

Gideon’s heart wanted to somehow believe. He was hoping it could really be true, but his insides were quivering, fearful and small. He told God he needed a sign. And guess what, God didn’t run away or turn His head in disgust. He saw Gideon’s heart, and He said, “No problem.” In fact, Gideon was so apprehensive, he asked God for another sign just to be sure. And God lovingly gave it.

We’ve been taught to belittle Thomas, one of Jesus’ disciples, because he wanted to touch the nail holes of the crucifiction. Jesus had already shown these to the other disciples, but Thomas wasn’t with them at the time, so when they told Thomas they’d seen Jesus alive, he said: “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25).

Jesus didn’t get mad at him at all or reprimand him. Religion has taught us that we are bad children if we ask Jesus for proof or a sign, but the Bible doesn’t tell us that at all. Instead it tells us that when Jesus came to see His disciples again, and Thomas was with them, Jesus said: “Peace be unto you.” We don’t ever have to be afraid of Jesus. He wants peace for us even more than we want it for ourselves sometimes.

“Then saith he to Thomas, ‘Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing’” (John 20:26-27).

When we have unrest in our lives and are a bit fearful about decisions; or if God seems to want us to step out on something to make things better and we’re not so sure what to think or what to do or if it’s God or not, let’s not be afraid to get personal with Him. He’s very personal with us! It’s not a sin to ask for a sign like Gideon did, or like Thomas.

Jesus told us and keeps telling us that each of us is vitally important to God.

“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows” (Matt. 10: 30-31).

The Lord is always going to help us when we seek Him, or as the case may be, turn back to Him.

Joseph expresses the heart of God when he talks to his brothers who meant to kill him, or trade him in for something else: “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.”

God is speaking kindly to us, calling us back to Himself, telling us we can come to Him anytime and even ask for proof, when we’re unsure of His voice. We don’t ever have to be afraid to talk to Him.

Let’s seek a more intimate relationship with Him. If we doubt like Gideon or Thomas, the Lord will lovingly give us a sign. His Word tells us He is perfectly willing to do so. Don’t be afraid.

Love, Carolyn

This weekend FREE ---- BEING BOLDER AS A CHRISTIAN.  (It’s probably not what you are thinking)

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If you’d like a FREE pdf or word doc of this booklet email me at cjmolica@hotmail.com