Submitted by Lara Cook
Then Gideon said to God, "If You will
deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken, behold, I will put a fleece of
wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry
on all the ground, then I will know that You will deliver Israel through me, as
You have spoken." Judges 6:36-37
It is never fun to be lost.
It is unnerving and scary. Signs
help to keep us from getting lost. They
give us direction and let us know we are on the right path; we are headed the
right direction. Sometimes discerning
the will of God in our lives and making sure we heard Him clearly before we
head off in the wrong direction can be much more unnerving and scary than even
being lost in the dark, in a strange city.
Gideon asked God for a sign so he would be sure he had heard
God clearly. He wanted to be sure that
the path to battle was indeed the path he was supposed to be on. He already had the support and following of
his people after he had destroyed the altar of Baal. He even had the support of his father, who
was the keeper of the idol. But this was
not enough for Gideon. He was about to
take a small army of three hundred into battle against an enormous army of
thousands. He wanted to be sure he had
heard the Lord correctly, and that the Lord would stand on His promise.
We all have insecurities.
We all suffer from lack of confidence sometimes. Even the most powerful people you know
sometimes suffer from insecurities. They
may hide it well, but they do feel insecure at times. Gideon was feeling a tad bit insecure at this
point. He spoke to God and basically
said God, “If you are really going to do what you say you will do, then prove it
by causing dew to pool only on the fleece I am throwing down on the threshing
floor. Make the floor all around the
fleece dry. Then I will believe you.” Gideon put God to the test and God came
through. He caused the dew to be on the
fleece only with completely dry ground all around, and underneath the fleece. There you go – that should be enough for
Gideon to sound the battle cry and lead everyone into battle. But Gideon still doubted God’s promises were
true.
Again Gideon asked God for another sign. This time Gideon asked God to let there be
dew all over the ground around the fleece but that the fleece itself would
remain dry. Once more God appeased
Gideon and did just what he had asked.
The fleece was perfectly dry with dewy wet ground all around it. So Gideon had his signs from God. Now he had every reason to be confident and
encouraged that God would deliver the enemy into their meager army’s
hands.
God’s words to us should never require outward
confirmation. Gideon’s requests were not
acts of faith. This was not about
determining God’s will – God had already told him exactly what to do. These requests of proof were signs of doubt,
fear and lack of confidence. But lucky
for Gideon, and us, that our God is a patient and long suffering God. He understands our fears and insecurities. He knows us inside and out and wants us to
choose to obey Him. He waits patiently
and sometimes for a long time for us to finally be ready to trust Him with our
lives and obey Him in all things.
Are you putting out the fleece for God? Are you hesitating
like Gideon, waiting for some divine signal to motivate you to move on down the
road God has set before you? God wants
us to have faith and trust Him even when the enemy army looms enormously ahead
of us. He goes before us. He carries us
and brings up the rear as well. He wants
us to take Him at His word, no signs or miracles needed.
Scripture to Claim:
"The LORD is the one who goes ahead of
you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or
be dismayed."
