and the One who walks with me on it.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Ten Servant Throw Down


          or Ten Days to Christmas

       I’ve heard it said that soldiers do fear, but they are trained to fight in spite of their fear.  Now, God often says not to fear (Is. 41:10), but we are human and well, it happens some times.  Is it that we lack faith?  Probably.  Yet, in our humanness we must decide if we will allow the fear we feel to stop us from doing what God wants us to do.

Jehovah saidthrow down the altar of Baal which your father has, and cut down the pillar by it. Jd. 6:25
Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as Jehovah had said to him. And so it was, because he feared his father's household and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day. So he did it by night. (v.27)

       Here Gideon is told by God to break down the idol Baal of his father’s, which must have been used by the townspeople as well.  Gideon knows full well that his life could be in jeopardy but he does it anyway.  He works around his own fear by doing the job at night, but I think the point is, he did what he was told to do.  The ten servants helped him throw the altar of Baal down- and cut down the grove.

       The enemy wants us to be stopped by our fear.  God wants us to not fear, but at the very least, do not let our fear keep us from obeying Him and His Word.  Maybe we’re afraid to tell a family member about Jesus, stand up to the lies of a co-worker, tell a pastor he’s wrong with what he said, confront someone who offended us, etc.  No matter how we feel, we can overcome that fear by determining to do God’s will in our lives.  For it is not by our own power anyway, but by His!

My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness… 2Cr. 12:9
I have spoken these things to you so that you might have peace in Me. In the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. Jh. 16:33
For everything that has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. 1Jh. 5:4