In our journey with God, we all hit the point where we say to ourselves, “I have doubts. I want to believe in God and what He says, but this is so hard.” If you are at that point, then take courage, your relationship is about to take a big leap. Why? Because when God wants to do a new thing in your life. It requires you grow in your belief of God and what He can do in your life.

Gideon’s story

Let’s take a look at Gideon’s life. This is a great example of someone who learned how to believe in God again. His story starts in Judges 6. At that time, things were not going well in Israel. In fact, it was so bad that in verse 6 it says, “So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord.”

Year after year, the Midianites would come in at harvest time and either take or destroy Israel’s flocks and produce leaving them nothing to eat. They cried out to the Lord, and He heard them. He set in motion a plan to rescue them, but first He had to get someone He could work with and use for His purposes. Introduce, Gideon.

Verses 11 and 12 say, “Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!’”

So many times people put Gideon down for hiding in the winepress to thresh the wheat, they say that he is a coward. I tend to see it differently. For me, he had the courage to defy the Midians and not give in, and that is why I think God choose Gideon. He was the only one who took any step of faith to survive.

Now that being said, Gideon did not get off to a good start. The first thing he did when God spoke to Him was complain about his situation.

I love how God deals with it. He ignores it and tells Gideon to get off his butt and rescue his people from the Midianites.

That is the amazing thing about God. He is not affected by who we are right now because He knows who we will become.

Next Gideon gives excuses about why he can’t do what God wants him to do. His clan is the weakest, and in his clan, he is the lowliest of the low.

Have you ever felt disqualified because of who your family is? Well God had a response for that too. He told him to, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man” (verse 16). God sees past our disqualifications because we have access to His power to accomplish anything that He wants. You don’t need to be someone special to do His work.

Now you would think after all that that Gideon would believe and act on it, but he doesn’t. He then asks for a sign. If you REALLY are God, then you need to do this…

I don’t know about you, but when I was first learning about God, I would do that. I had this little bit of faith and hope, but I needed assurances that first it was really God, and second, that he really wanted me to do what He was asking me. Another thing I love about God is His patience. He didn’t get all frustrated and give up on Gideon and me, He just showed Gideon several times that he was God and that He could be trusted.

All throughout the process, Gideon doubted and would require proof, but in the end, he did what God wanted, and the Midianites were defeated, and his nation was saved.

So what does that mean for you? First, of all, God is trustworthy. I know that sometimes in life our experiences have taught us that God is anything BUT trustworthy, but I can testify that God is faithful.

Second, just take that first small step. You will be amazed at how far God will come to meet you where you are at in this moment. He loves you and wants to prove to you that you can believe in Him.

Taking the first step is the hardest, but you will be so glad that you did when God comes through for you and shows you just real He is and how He wants to move in your life.

You can do it. Take that first small step, and you will never regret it.

 ~ By Kim Thompson-Pinder

 
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• Mustard Seed Faith – Matthew 17:20 Explained
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