And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. (Judges 6:11-16)
Today's Morsel: Gideon, like so many, was afraid to accept God's calling. Many fear failure, others fear of responsibility, while others fear having to tell others to do things, or peer pressure. Gideon was afraid of failure. When we look at the leaders that God chose, Joshua and David seem to be the only two that weren't afraid and who didn't try to find an excuse for why they couldn't do what God was asking them to do. Moses said that he had a speech problem. God said, Good you won't talk too much!! Gideon said, I'm the least in my father's house. God said, Good, that way when great things start happening, you won't be able to say you did it. ( My wording in these). When they asked where is Saul, "And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff" (1 Samuel 10:22). God said, He's hiding. God tried to encourage Gideon by calling him a mighty man of valor. He did miracles before him to let him know that He was going to be with him. And Gideon still kept trying to find an excuse. Fear will cause you to look for why you can't rather than why you can. Someone noted that an excuse is just an opportunity to be lazy, as the carnal person often offers an excuse instead of action. God will never use a person who offers excuses instead of availing themselves. It has be stated that there are two components of personal growth in the kingdom of God: First there is discovering your calling, and second, accomplishing your calling. God isn't going to call you to do something that you aren't capable of doing. So don't fear if He calls you, He will enable you.
Sing: Here I am, Lord, here I am, I give all myself to You, here I am. Here I am ,Lord, here I am, let your spirit work through me, here I am.
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