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December 2001 Table of Contents
Special Feature
Understanding And Confirming Your Call
From Whining to Winning [Part Two of Four]
Randall L. Hays, M.D.
Minister of Music and Worship
Willow Point Baptist Church
Shreveport, Louisiana
In this four part series of articles, we are studying Gideon and his call from God. We clarified our study of this topic with four stated goals:
Gideon's Attitude - (he was taking action)
Gideon's Affirmation - (from God)
Gideon's Actions - (he made a commitment)
Gideon's Acceptance - (of risk)
We began in the last issue of The Communicator, by discussing Gideon's attitude. We looked at our call and how our commitment to the call requires faithfulness. The observation was made that perhaps Gideon was called a "mighty man of valor" (valor - strength of mind or spirit that enables a man to encounter danger with firmness) because of the risk he took with the Midianites in being faithful to do what God had called him to do. We discussed the need to do what we know to do, when we know to do it and where God last called us to do it. In this article, we will discuss the second of four stated goals...Gideon's affirmation. Not so much God's affirmation of Gideon's commitment to his last call, but His repeated affirmation of the "new thing" that He wanted to do in Gideon's life. It certainly reassures me to know that God is patient with us in His desire to lead us to a new thing in our life.
It is stunning to realize that in Judges 6:11 - 7:25, Gideon had to be affirmed by God at least 8 times. It is especially reassuring for me to note that in verse 39 of chapter 6, Gideon even felt compelled to say to God, "Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more." It is often that my spirit says, "God, let me ask you about this just once more." In essence, we find ourselves either not in a position to hear from God or maybe saying, "God, let me get this straight."
It is interesting to note that just a few verses before, Gideon had been called a mighty man of valor. He surely wasn't acting like someone with much valor. In verse 27, he feared his father's household and the men of the city so much that he even acted at night. That could be viewed as a cowardly act when he had assurance from God that his obedience would be blessed.
What are some issues that cause us to need not just affirmation, but repeated affirmation from the Lord? Let's look at three.
Fear
In Judges 6:27b, we see the source of Gideon's fear. It says "But because he feared his father's household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night." Gideon had been "re-affirmed" by God in the preceding verses, but still was afraid. At this point, Gideon's source of fear did not seem to be that God would not make good on His promise, but he seemed fearful to make the initial move God had called him to make because of his fear of man...in this case, his own family.
From the beginning of the creation of man, God has had to deal with our fear. (See Genesis 3:10) It is interesting to note that there is no reference of fear prior to sin. It was only after Adam and Eve disobeyed God that they became fearful. In Judges 6, Gideon had a difficult choice. He could fear God and the consequences of his disobedience. Or, he could proceed and fear man. There was a price to pay for Gideon to go on with God, or there would have been a price for him to pay to choose to stay the same. It's the same with us. At times, we either go on in fear, or we are paralyzed by hesitation and compromise and consequently held captive to the incredible price that those actions bring.
Usually when you and I are fearful of a situation or circumstance, it is because we have our focus in the wrong place. Gideon's focus was on the altar of Baal and the opinions of his "father's household," rather than the security of knowing that he had assurance and a mission from God. Someone has defined problems as those frightening things we see when we take our eyes off of the goal. Woody Hayes was the football coach at Ohio State University for many years. However, it was his ten-year-old son who reminded him when he first walked into that stadium of 86,000 seats, that the football FIELD was the same size as the previous school.
My daughter had a seemingly, unfounded fear of water. There were no incidents of "near drowning" or other bad experiences that led to those feelings. There was not a single thing that my wife and I could reference that caused her anxiety. Consequently, as a small child, even playing in the water of her kiddy pool was a scary experience for her. She was so focused on the possibility of drowning, that she could not enjoy the experience in the security that we provided as protector and guardian.
It was Eleanor Roosevelt that said, "You must do the thing you think you cannot do." But it was Jesus who said, "Be strong, do not fear!"
Insecurity
I suppose Gideon was not unlike you and me. He obviously was secure enough to be found faithful in spite of the fear of the Midianites. (See Judges 6:11-12) But what was it that caused him to be so insecure that he needed such repeated affirmation before accepting the new call? I would expect that most of us have found some degree of security in our call. At least we are functioning well enough to be the recipient of this publication, which says something. But why do you and I constantly need God to repeat Himself when He has spoken clearly about an issue? What paralyzes us to inaction and the effectual insecurity that causes that inaction?
The answer to those questions lies in a paradox. I think it is interesting to note in verse 15 of Chapter 6 that Gideon's response was, "...my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." The Bible teaches us that when we are weak, He is strong. We say that we believe that, but who wants to feel weak? That feeling alone causes us to feel more insecure. It's like a self-perpetuating monster that Satan uses to keep us circling in the wilderness. Consequently, we do not claim the very power available to allow us to prevail. In reality, what we should live and feel is what is expressed in 2 Corinthians, Chapter 12 of the Message..."the weaker I get, the stronger I become."
Certainly there is a place for healthy insecurity. It is one thing that drives our desire to constantly grow and learn. I am bi-vocational and in my other vocation, I am a physician. One thing I learned in medical school has application here. During the process of learning to run codes, I became frustrated in not being able to handle code blue situations without a sense of insecurity. I knew the algorithms like the back of my hand. I felt comfortable with the drugs needed and the administration and dosages of those drugs. My clinical skills and abilities had been practiced and learned. But, the prevailing sense of insecurity with a task that was urgently demanded seemed to over-ride my desire to feel confident. Another doctor once said to me, "If I am ever the recipient of your skills, and I am the patient during the code you are running, your adrenaline better be pumping!" We need to allow our insecurity to challenge us and to energize us to confident action. Normal and healthy insecurity will stimulate us, but unhealthy insecurity will lead us to abnormal results.
Faithlessness
The last thing I would like for us to explore in our desire and need for affirmation is our faithlessness. Note in Judges 6:18 that the Lord's reply to Gideon was, "I will wait until you come back." Immediately in verse 19, the Bible says, "Gideon went in and prepared..." It is sad to say, but apparently God was in a position to be asked to wait on Gideon because Gideon was not prepared. It is heart wrenching for me to understand that there really are times…many times…when God has had to wait for me and often because I was unprepared.
"We will be tomorrow what we are becoming today." It is a truth! You and I will never possess that which we are unwilling to pursue. The thing that is needed from us as worshippers first and worship leaders second is often immediate. There will be many times when we will not have proper time to prepare and we will need to "be ready in season and out of season." (2 Timothy 4:2) We must be found faithful so that God can live His life through us often from the overflow of that which He is doing in us.
Henry Ford once said, "Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success." I believe that is similar to what God might have said to Gideon in these verses. Olympic medalists do not achieve without preparation. Surgeons cannot heal without preparation. Professors cannot teach without preparation. Pilots cannot navigate without preparation. Pianists cannot perform without preparation. Teams cannot win without preparation. Leaders cannot lead without preparation and worshippers cannot worship without preparation. There are many times in life where the margin of victory is small. How many games has your team won by a margin of one point in the last second? In those moments, preparation is the key to winning. A football team must have a game plan for the goal line stance so that when it is called upon, it is polished. Our worship of and obedience to God should be the same. We should be prepared so that God does not have to wait on us. That includes living the kind of life that has us "ready in season and out of season." We should stand ready to do God's will at a moment's notice and ready to follow wherever He leads.
I pray that our need for affirmation and our need to have God wait upon us would be minimized by conquering fear, insecurity and faithlessness in our lives and ministries. Next issue we'll look at the actions that ensued and Gideon's ultimate response to God's call and challenge.
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