Corona Devo 565

I'd like to share with you that my parents called me their "patient" child or their "bright" child, but (instead) many times I overheard my mom tell others that I was her "tester" child.

Are you a "tester" child, too...of God?

In the Bible, Gideon was a "tester" child, just like us. He was given an assignment by God (to lead an army to defeat the Midianites who had been oppressing God's people, the Israelites) and Gideon had the guts to ask God to "prove Himself" (three times!) before he accepted the assignment.

Gideon replied, “If you are truly going to help me, show me a sign to prove that it is really the Lord speaking to me. (18) Don’t go away until I come back and bring my offering to you.”

He answered, “I will stay here until you return.”

(19) Gideon hurried home. He cooked a young goat, and...he baked some bread without yeast. Then...he brought them out and presented them to the angel, who was under the great tree.

(20) The angel of God said to him, “Place the meat and the unleavened bread on this rock, and pour the broth over it.” And Gideon did as he was told. (21) Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and bread with the tip of the staff in his hand, and fire flamed up from the rock and consumed all he had brought. And the angel of the Lord disappeared.

...(36) Then Gideon said to God, “If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, (37) prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised.” (38) And that is just what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowlful of water.  

(39) Then Gideon said to God, “Please don’t be angry with me, but let me make one more request. Let me use the fleece for one more test. This time let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew.” (40) So that night God did as Gideon asked. The fleece was dry in the morning, but the ground was covered with dew.  ~Judges 6:17-21, 36-40

As a spiritual reminder: the Lord Almighty owes us nothing, and He has in fact given us everything by going to the cross for us and our sin, and so asking Him to "prove Himself" is a bit outlandish. But just like Gideon, we have all done just that, haven't we?

God "showed up" to Gideon's "tests" but the ironic thing in Gideon's story (and I have a feeling in our faith story too) is that God also (in turn) asked Gideon to prove his faith. It's easy to ask God to "show up" in our lives or to "give us proof" of His presence in a situation we are facing. But are we "showing up" for God in terms of our faith in Him?

It is up to God how He chooses to "reveal" Himself to us in our daily lives, but if our spiritual hearts and eyes are open and humble, He will produce "wet and dry fleece" for us to behold. But not all the time, and in the meantime, God is watching for us to trust Him during our "testing" as well.

Right after Gideon tested God, God tested Gideon...and he passed!

The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength. (3) Therefore, tell the people, ‘Whoever is timid or afraid may leave this mountain and go home.’” So 22,000 of them went home, leaving only 10,000 who were willing to fight.

(4) But the Lord told Gideon, “There are still too many! Bring them down to the spring, and I will test them to determine who will go with you and who will not.” (5) When Gideon took his warriors down to the water, the Lord told him, “Divide the men into two groups. In one group put all those who cup water in their hands and lap it up with their tongues like dogs. In the other group put all those who kneel down and drink with their mouths in the stream.” (6) Only 300 of the men drank from their hands. All the others got down on their knees and drank with their mouths in the stream.

(7) The Lord told Gideon, “With these 300 men I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites. Send all the others home.” (8) So Gideon collected the provisions and rams’ horns of the other warriors and sent them home. But he kept the 300 men with him. ~Judges 7:2-8

Cutting your army down from 32,000 to 300 is dramatic, some might say crazy. But our Lord can do dramatic things if when have crazy faith in Him.

If he is doing some "whittling" in our lives today, have faith.

If God is "testing" our faith in Him for the battle we have at hand today, have faith.

We are all "tester-children" by nature. We want proof-of-God in order to prove-our-faith. But while there can be a telltale fleece once in a while, the daily "tests" are usually in reference to our faith. Will we trust God enough to enter the battle He has assigned us to today--regardless of the size of our army, the weapons at hand or the odds in favor of our victory?

We are quick to ask the Lord to "make Himself known" or to "show us a sign". But are we ready for the flip-side when God asks us to prove our faith to Him?

Gideon went for it. His "wet and dry fleece" were proof for our daily battles as well. We can march into today's battle with confidence, because no matter how many are following us, the Lord is leading us. Have faith!

Blessings,  

sarah    

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com