Learn From Gideon, 32

~ God Sometimes Uses Very Unusual Methods ~

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  ~  “So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands.  Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers—they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing—and they cried, ‘The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!’” (Judges 7:19-20).

Learn From Gideon  ~  If God had allowed Gideon to accomplish His purposes in Gideon’s own way:

1. He would have been unsuccessful—and God’s purposes not advanced, OR
2. He would have been successful—and filled with pride making him useless for further missions in the kingdom of God!
3. the reality:  “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord.  ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts’” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
4. the correct response:  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Challenge For Us  ~  Have you learned to trust God even when His ways are drastically different than your ways? 

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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