The God Perspective Against All Odds and Conquering Your Giants

Judges 6: 15-16 Gideon said to Him, Oh Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Behold, my clan is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. The Lord said to him, Surely I will be with you, and you shall smite the Midianites as one man. (Amplified Bible)

The history of Israel is filled with colorful characters and strong leaders. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob led to Joseph and Israel settling in Egypt. Long after Joseph passed away the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt for over four centuries. God rose up Moses to lead the Exodus out of enslavement and Moses led until he passed the leadership torch to Joshua. Eventually, Israel would demand a mortal king even though God was supposed to be their King. Between The passing of Joshua and the anointing of Saul, the first king of Israel was the time of Judges. God was the King of Israel and He would rise up judges to lead Israel in their constant fights with their neighbors. It is important to realize the cycle of disobedience that existed for the 400 years Judges ruled in Israel. When Israel obeyed the Lord their God they prospered and lived at peace. When they turned from the one real God and worshipped the idol-gods of their pagan neighbors, they were under persistent persecution. Israel would then cry out to the Lord in their suffering and God would deliver them through a Judge He would rise up. Such was the case of Gideon.

Our key verses show us however that God will choose to use anyone He sees fit. The person need not be exceptionally strong, gifted, or special. At the time of the rising of Gideon, Israel was being oppressed by the Midianites. They were so oppressed the Israelites would be forced to hide in caves as their crops were being destroyed. They cried out to God and God sent an angel to Gideon to raise him up to deliver Israel. His initial reaction is found in our key verses and they reveal that how we view ourselves is not relevant to the work God might call us to. Gideon was from the poorest clan in the tribe of Manasseh and within his father's house, he was the least. You may be feeling sometimes in your walk that God can't use you for similar reasons. Maybe you are not the most affluent. Maybe you are not the most charismatic. Maybe you are not the strongest. How we see ourselves or how the world might consider us, is not what concerns God however. Remember that Moses and Paul were ineloquent speakers. Many of the Apostles, such as Simon Peter, were uneducated fishermen.

Now when they saw the boldness and unfettered eloquence of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and untrained in the schools [common men with no educational advantages], they marveled; and they recognized that they had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13 (Amplified Bible)

It matters not to God how man views himself. If He has a purpose for you, He will bring it to pass. How? Finishing the key verses we see the answer is that the Lord will be with Gideon. Similarly, God will be with you as you undertake the work He has called you to do. Continuing on in the story of the calling of Gideon, we see how we need to approach that call.

That night the Lord said to Gideon, Take your father's bull, the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has and cut down the Asherah [symbol of the goddess Asherah] that is beside it; And build an altar to the Lord your God on top of this stronghold with stones laid in proper order. Then take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down. Judges 6: 25-26 (Amplified Bible)

Baal and Asherah were the popular god and goddess of the neighboring cultures. Israel often strayed from the one real God by worshipping these two idols (among others). The message from God here is clear to us today. The first thing we must do in response to the call of God in our lives is cast out the idols we have constructed that run contrary to God. Times have changed over the centuries but we still build altars to the false Gods of the world. We still bow down to the idol god of money, or fame, or power. The reality is that anything which we pay more homage to than God becomes an idol in our lives as much as Baal and Asherah were in the days of Gideon. Maybe we need to tear down an addiction issue that has become an idol in our lives. Maybe it is a bitter grudge we are holding. Whatever it is, God is instructing us to tear it down and cleanse our life before we can be ready for the call God has for us.

Once we do as the Lord commands we can expect two things. One the enemy will come against us and secondly, God will answer. Here was the reaction of those around Gideon:

Then the men of the city commanded Joash, Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has pulled down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it. Judges 6: 30 (Amplified Bible)

When we start to clean out our lives and become dedicated to the Lord we too can expect a harsh reaction from the world. Despite the angry reaction of the crowds, Gideon would not be brought forth to die. Instead, he would inquire of the Lord and ask Him for proof that he had indeed been called to deliver Israel. In fact Gideon would ask twice and the Lord would confirm for him both times. The Lord will always answer us in our service to Him.

'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.' Jeremiah 33:3

As we progress in our call for the Lord, we will see that God will orchestrate our service to assure that only He gets the glory for the successes He brings into our lives. Man is inherently proud but God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble (1Peter 5:5). God is a generous God but one thing He will not share is His glory.

The Lord said to Gideon, The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel boast about themselves against Me, saying, My own hand has delivered me. Judges 7: 2 (Amplified Bible)

Gideon had 32,000 people willing to fight with him when God realized that the number was too great, lest Israel boast that they delivered themselves. In our lives the tasks may also seem too great or too impossible. That is how God builds His testimony. What is required is faith and obedience; that's it. In the case of the call of Gideon, God trimmed the 32,000 to only 300 men. And how was the enemy described?

And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the sons of the east lay along the valley like locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand on the seashore for multitude. Judges 7: 12 (Amplified Bible)

In our walk to the task may seem too daunting. The enemies gathered against us may seem as innumerable as the sand on the shore. But God does not lead us into the battle concerned about what man is concerned with. Numbers do not matter to God. Strength does not matter to God. Only faith and obedience matter to God. Gideon was faithful and obeyed God and with only the 300 men God had separated out, God delivered the enemies into his hands. Picture that for a moment. Only 300 against a multitude. Seemingly unconquerable odds according to the logic of man. But the 300 had God on their side. When the odds do not seem to be in your favor, remember Gideon and the words of the Apostle Paul:

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8: 31

Who indeed? This is why David was successful against Goliath. David was not a stupid man. He saw the size differential. He saw that the most powerful warriors were cowering in fear at the mere sight of the giant. While David understood the worldly perspective, he also understood the God perspective. The God perspective sees God as bigger than any giant we may face. The God perspective remembers all God has already done. David had already seen God deliver him before from the bear and the lion. The God perspective David possessed allowed him to see past the report of man. When it came to Goliath, that report was daunting:

A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him. 1Samuel 17: 4-7

Yikes. All worldly wisdom would say run and hide. That is what King Saul and the Israelites were doing. The God perspective however knows that God is bigger than this giant. The Prophet Isaiah teaches us:

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Isaiah 40: 12

David knew it was not he that went into battle with Goliath but God. Gideon knew that 300 versus a multitude are unfair odds when God is on the side of the 300. The God perspective allowed them both to look past what man would say in a given situation. It allowed them to focus on God. That is the key. When we are faced with the multitude coming against us or the giants in our lives that seem insurmountable, we must focus on God and what He has done for us and what He will do for us. If we focus instead on our surroundings, we are doomed to the restrictions man places on everything. The giants will seem too big. The multitudes will seem too overwhelming. Then fear and anxiety can set in, as it did for Israel when facing Goliath. We can start talking ourselves out of what God can do.

Don't place limits on God. Don't constrain God to the perspective of man. He does not require us to be the best or the brightest. He does not require us to be the most attractive or the strongest. Gideon was from the poorest clan in the tribe of Manasseh and David was the last son of Jesse considered. He only found himself at the front line of battle because he was delivering cheese to his brothers! But God called them both to the time they arose. He required the faith and obedience which comes from maintaining a God perspective and both Gideon and David complied. David slew his giant and would go on to lead Israel and have the Messiah come from his lineage. Gideon would deliver Israel from the oppression of the Midianites and here is how the Bible describes what followed in his life:

Thus was Midian subdued before the Israelites so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the land had peace and rest for forty years in the days of Gideon. Judges 8:28 (Amplified Bible)

Israel would go on to stray from God once again when Gideon passed away but his life reminds us that God will use anyone to accomplish His will for His glory. Gideon's life and the showdown of David and Goliath remind us that maintaining a God perspective will help us to overcome the giants in our lives and the insurmountable odds. Let God use you today for the purposes He has called you too and lean not on your own understanding. Watch the God perspective unleash the power of God in your life today as you labor for Him and His Kingdom.

Hallelujah!

Reverend Anthony Wade September 27, 2009