Sometimes it just takes a young’n to get ‘er done! Young Gideon was just a boy threshing wheat one day, … and then he was the leader of Israel the next. How does that happen??? God, that’s how! I was thinking, though, as miraculous as these turn of events are, they really couldn’t have come about any other way. Think if an old dude would have torn down the altar of Baal. The Israelites might not have been so patient. They didn’t just wipe out young Gideon, though. They listened to him. He was full of fiery passion, and he used it to get the Israelites’ attention and to rally them from their depression. I like how Gideon, though he’s pretty skeptical of what will happen, goes and gets an offering for God before he puts Him to the test. He was young, and his parents apparently worshiped Baal, but he had the wits about him to KNOW that you don’t approach the Lord God without an offering. And truth be known, Gideon probably could have just approached God outright at this stage. But out of respect, he goes and boils up some goat stew and bakes some bread (Gideon sounds like good husband material already!) and takes it back to present to God. Did you notice that after Gideon gives the offering, and God consumes it with fire, that the angel of the Lord disappears, and suddenly, Gideon seems to have a direct line of communication with God? That’s some Spirit-filling, folks! I’m sure it was a lot easier for Gideon to muster the courage he did knowing full well, without a doubt that God was with him. He pulls a final act of unbelief and naivety in the last section of the chapter by asking for a second miracle to show that he’s hearing God correctly. God, in all His goodness and love and mercy, grants Gideon that little miracle, too. I feel like he was kind of smiling down that morning as He made that winepress floor damp with dew. He had big plans for this young man.
Writing prompt: That’s the Spirit!
Have you ever been filled with the Spirit? If so, write about your experience. If you’ve never had a feeling like this, write to God and ask Him to fill you with His Spirit today. Take some time to be alone with Him and to feel His presence. The Spirit loves to be welcomed and to feel welcome. Welcome Him today.
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