Devotionals

The Proof is in the Pudding

by Hannah Violette
04/29/06
Not For Sale
Author requests article critique

  Message Writer
  Hire Writer

Tweet

God’s incredible sense of humor never ceases to amaze me. That sense of humor is none so apparent as when He called Gideon to rise up and deliver the Israelites from their bondage to Midian. Recorded in Genesis 6, this young, relatively unknown young Jew was quietly threshing his wheat, hidden away in a winepress to avoid capture and plunder by the oppressing Midianites. As he intermittently threshes the wheat and looks over his shoulder, praying every moment that he won’t be discovered, imagine his shock – and God’s laughter – as an angel appears out of nowhere and greets him as “mighty warrior.”

Although I understand that God speaks to us prophetically, projecting the reality of His finished work upon our unfinished state, I can’t help but pick up a bit of tongue-in-cheek sarcasm here. God has a sense of humor!

Gideon, being that mighty warrior, spent a lot of time persuading himself to believe that when God called him to service, God would also equip him for such. A series of proof tests gave Gideon the courage to assemble his army, only to have God whittle away at his troops until he had only 300! It was at this point that God released Gideon to take his men and sack the enemy … the enemy that outnumbered them by more than ten to one! There’s that sense of humor again! Ha, ha, ha … He has got to be kidding may well have run through Gideon’s mind more than once.

But God wasn’t kidding. This was no joke. And by every human sense of reason and understanding, Gideon had every right to be afraid! But rather than waiting for another series of “If the fleece is wet and the ground is dry, then I’ll believe You”, God beat him to the punch. He met Gideon where he was, in his fear and doubt and understandable terror, and said “Check it out for yourself.” He did, he believed, and he proceeded to win the day (or the night, as the case was) with the most ludicrous of battle plans, almost without even breaking a sweat.

God is no stranger to our fear. He knows our weakness and our human frailties, and is more than willing to walk us through them. If our hearts are willing to obey, we don’t need to ask for proof of God’s sustenance and empowerment; He’ll gladly volunteer it.

What step of faith are you hesitating to take? What has God told you it’s time to do? Open your eyes, open your ears, and witness for yourself the confirmation that is right in front of you. Then go, win the day! To God be the glory!