The whole of the scriptures is a pointer to no one else but Jesus. The book of Judges described the story of Gideon to us. Israel was under siege and the children of God had become slaves in the hands of the Midianites. This had gone on for years that many had even forgotten the God of Israel. The worship of Baal had become the acceptable.
Gideon was threshing wheat when suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said “Mighty soldier, The Lord is with you. “
This was very strange to hear. They had been in captivity for years and they could not even serve God as they ought to. It was as though the God of Israel had been silenced forever. Gideon began to wonder how God could be with him and they had been in such a situation for years. He questioned the angel who came to him “If the Lord is with us, why has all these happened to us?”
Then the Lord began to have some dealings with Gideon till he sent him out to battle against the Midianites that had ruined Israel. Now this is where I am going: the Lord had never left Israel all along, however, there was no man He found worthy to use. The conversations Gideon had with the Angel of the Lord showed a man who had been having fellowship even though they could not do so in the public. He had read about the dealings of God with Israel; how the Lord saved them from Egypt and delivered them from their enemies. He sacrificed to the Angel because he understood worship; he must have read father Abraham. He was a man that understood fellowship even though circumstances around didn’t make this translate into an active faith.
God then began to show Gideon some things beyond the natural so he could move to the place He desired him to be in preparation to destroy the Midianites. He went through different phases from destroying the altar of Baal to choosing his men of war. His men were reduced to three hundred (300). The Lord wanted Gideon to know all He needed was just a man to show up and seize the victory in His name.
Gideon was camped close to the enemy base, during the night, with the Midianites camped in the valley just below. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up! Take your troops and attack the Midianites, for I will cause you to defeat them! But if you are afraid, first go down to the camp alone- take along your servant Purah if you like- and listen to what they are saying down there! You will be greatly encouraged and eager to attack” (Judges 7:9-10)
Obviously, Gideon was afraid so he went down silently into the enemy camp, only to hear the dream of one of the soldiers of the enemy being shared amongst his peers on how great the God of Israel is and how Gideon was going to conquer them. This gave Gideon a boost to attack the enemy.
Fellowship is the secret to boosted faith and faith is the key to eternal victory.
Gideon attacked the Midianites with his 300 men and they overcame. Obviously, the victory was already a concluded one. The battle wasn’t won on the field; it was a victory for God through Gideon.
Now, to you: there are battles you have been scared of taking on because you have been in that circle for too long. And it has become a Midianite to your Israel. Each time you think about it, you just ask yourself that same question Gideon asked: “if God is with me, why has all these happened to me?”
And the hurtful part is that no one understands, because it is not community warfare; it is a private one. You may not be privileged to go to the enemy camp to spy on their words, someone already went there on your behalf and He is telling you what to do. He already won the victory for you and the enemy is so scared about you showing up.
“And those who believe shall use my authority to cast out demons, and they shall speak new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them; and they will be able to place their hands on the sick and heal them” Mark 16:15
Take the courage to invade the enemy camp in prayers with confidence of victory and not pleading to sign a memorandum of understanding. Fellowship is the secret. It is the start of the process after a relationship has been established through salvation.
If only you have an idea of how powerful you are and how much the enemy you are scared of talks about your strength, you will attack in confidence. Victory isn’t about how strong you feel; the enemy doesn’t see that, all he sees is who is with you (fellowship) and that was what sealed the victory for Gideon.
Can you go back to the basics this season? You’d be surprised how God would keep coming through for you even when you feel unworthy for such a victory. It’s the power of fellowship!
Be Innovated
Olufemi Ibitoye
Weldone sir..
ReplyDeleteThank you and God bless
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