God Gave Him Courage to Lead the Army (Judges 7:19-22)

1/12/2010 9:12 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                    Focus:  God gave him courage to lead the army

Bible Reading & Meditation               Reference:  Judges 7:19-22

            Message of the verses:  “19  So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the pitchers that were in their hands. 20  When 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 cried, "A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!" 21  Each stood in his place around the camp; and all the army ran, crying out as they fled. 22  When they blew 300 trumpets, the LORD set the sword of one against another even throughout the whole army; and the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the edge of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath.”

            As I left Gideon yesterday, (in yesterday’s SD), he was all pumped up after hearing about the dream that one of the soldiers had about how they were going to be defeated by Israel, led by Gideon.  In today’s SD Gideon lead his small hand picked army to the outside of the camp of the Midianites and upon his signal all three hundred, which are now surrounding the camp, break their jars, hold up their lamps, and then blow their trumpets.  This completely frightens the Midianites, but the key to the success is the little phrase that is outlined above, “the Lord set the sword of one against another.”  It was the Lord who caused the Midianites to fight against each other and then they would run down a canyon road as they were chased by the army of Israel.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is wonderful to see how the Lord worked all of the details of this battle and how it all came to pass, and yet as I go through the battles of everyday life it is hard at all times to see how the Lord is at work in my life.  In order to do this I have to look through the eyes of faith, and “faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God.  I cannot “brush my teeth with Gideon’s toothbrush,” but I have to use my own toothbrush of faith for the circumstances that the Lord has for me.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1. What I have to go through today is a cat-scan, and I have to take some medicine before it that causes me to be cleaned out and also causes me to become kind of lit up so the test can be run correctly.   This is the “test” that I have from the Lord to do today, and I must remember that “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”

1/12/2010 9:58 AM