Walk on the Water
I’ve been reading the story of God calling Gideon in Judges 6 starting verse 11. Basically, Gideon is terrified of the Midianites who have taken control of the land so he’s hiding from them threshing wheat in a wine-press, of all places, so that he can keep what little food he gathers away from them. Stopping right here, I wonder how many times in my life my fear that God won’t provide, like He has repeatedly promised, has led me to ridiculous decisions like threshing wheat in a wine press? But God…is God and hiding in a wine press does not prevent Him from keeping His eye on me-or Gideon in this case.
In verse 11, we read that an Angel of the Lord came to where Gideon was. The Angel of the Lord says, “The Lord is with you, mighty man of courage.” In just 2 verses, God shows us 2 things about His character. 1-He SEES you; you cannot hide from God. (In the reverse, you also don’t need to worry about DOING anything for God to find you. You do not live in too small of a town, or have too small of a position, or even possess too few abilities for God to come TO YOU when He’s ready.) The second thing we learn about God is that He calls things that are not (in our own human nature) as if they ALREADY ARE.
As Gideon and the angel chat, the angel says “Go in this your might, and you shall save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?” This great declaration from the Angel of the Lord is met with Gideon telling the angel he’s clearly made a mistake because Gideon couldn’t possibly save Israel and to be sure the angel understands all of his shortcomings, Gideon lists them out for him:…he’s part of the poorest family..from the smallest tribe…and he’s the youngest; voted least likely to succeed.
I love Gideon..I more often feel like Gideon than not. I want to be courageous and step out of the water and lead others to Christ, but most of the time, I’m busy making sure God knows all that I’m not. I’m just from Waco…I’m just from a lower-middle class family that struggled to make ends meet. I just went to college but don’t have special training or advanced education or letters after my name. I just worked as a drug rep for 14 years and don’t have any real marketable skills. I just tried to start a new business when my husband got sick. I just have 2 little kids at home and don’t have tons of time. I just……
I could spend all of my time telling God ALL the things I think I’m not and completely miss TWO more important lessons. ONE-in my own human nature, I might be right and might be unequipped to do anything for God-unable to ‘walk’ on the water. But God doesn’t care about ALL the things I think I’m not because God isn’t calling me to go out on my authority, but HIS. It is NOT MY ability that will change lives; it’s His. When God looks at me, He sees past what I think I’m not and see WHO HE IS ALREADY living IN ME. And THAT’S who He’s calling. TWO-my current situation..my past..my amount of education (or lack thereof) NONE of it is news to God. In fact, God specializes in using the ill-equipped and unprepared so that ALL will see it is GOD, not me, who is changing lives and walking on water.
As you spend this summer sitting with God, without a personal agenda or list of demands, I encourage you to see yourself as God does-as COURAGEOUS and look for where God is calling you to get out of the boat to walk on the water with Him.
https://youtu.be/SmW6p1HwNtw