No 2

(Gideon)

Once upon a time there was a little man who was threshing grain behind a structure to avoid being seen. He was approached by someone who asked him to lead his people against a formidable enemy. The messenger, as it turns out, was the Lord who wanted Gideon to deliver His people out of the hands of the Midianites. Gideon, in all humility said to the Lord: “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.” (Judges 6 : 15). I like Gideon because he is someone with whom I can relate. Further on in the chapter, he makes a request to the Lord, just to make sure. His request was that he place a fleece on the ground and that, in the morning, dew would be only on the fleece and that the ground would be dry. The Lord did what Gideon asked. Gideon, still not satisfied, asked the Lord that he place another fleece on the ground and that, in the morning, the fleece would be dry and the ground wet. The Lord, in His infinite patience, acquiesced to Gideon’s demand. Aren’t we all a little like Gideon? We know what God wants for our lives but we want confirmation, just to make sure. But, in the case of Gideon, he trusted the Lord and the Israelites were delivered by a group of very unlikely warriors using very unlikely instruments of war – torches, trumpets and pitchers. God always honours unalterable faith in His children. “If ye have faith as a mustard seed, ye shall say to this mountain, remove hence to yonder place and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matt 17 : 20)