Learn From Gideon, 14

~ God Is A God of Patience ~

The Biblical account of the life of Gideon provides for one of the most interesting character studies in all of Scripture.  In this series we will discover practical lessons for living the Christian life today.  

Scripture  ~  “Then the Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites.  Have I not sent you?’  So Gideon said to Him, ‘O my Lord, how can I save Israel?  Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.’  And the Lord said to him, ‘Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.’  Then he said to Him, ‘If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me.  Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You.’  And He said, ‘I will wait until you come back’” (Judges 6:14-18). 

Learn From Gideon  ~  While God is a God of patience.  But that does not mean that He will not eventually act and bring judgement to the world and all who are in it.

1. God is a patient God.  “Beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:8-9).
2. God knows our heart and our minds: “The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:12-13).
3. There will come an end to God’s patience.  “We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.  For He says: ‘In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.’  Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:1-2).

concluding comment  ~  We learn about Gideon primarily from Judges 6-8, but also Isaiah 9:1-7, and Hebrews 11:1-3, 32-34.

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

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