Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Joshua 6,7

7:2 "The LORD said to Gideon, 'The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, for Israel would become boastful, saying, "My own power has delivered me." ' "

God expresses His motivation in sending a small group to the battle site to ensure credit is given where it is due.

I really appreciated the juxtaposition of Gideon's attitude and God's attitude. Gideon was completely consumed with the question of how the Midianites would be defeated. He was concerned about logistics, manpower, and strategy as it related to ensuring victory. And he was quite stressed out about it.

God, on the other hand was completely consumed with the question of how He would be glorified. He was concerned about logistics, manpower, and strategy as it related to ensuring the greatest glory to His name. And He was quite confident about it.

The lesson I derive from this is not to focus on how God is going to solve a problem, but how God is going to be glorified. God is going to do what He wills to do, and nothing can stop Him. To worry about the physical outcome of a scenario is fruitless. We should, however, be concerned about God's glory. The way we approach our crises will have an impact on the magnification of our Lord's name. We need to guard our thoughts, speech, and even body language to ensure that as others see us doing our part of God's will, their reaction will be to praise God.

Personally, I'm worried about a lot of stuff right now and I need to get down to business confession my anxiety and focusing on what I'm doing to lift up the name of Jesus.

Lord, help me to be more concerned about Your glory and less concerned about my welfare. Help me to trust in Your absolute power and control over circumstances so I can be free to magnify Your name.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You are a delight to both Dad and me! I love you, and your overwhelming desire to please the Lord. Don't forget what Grandpa says ... Worry is praying to the wrong God! God has shown Himself so faithful to you and Michelle over the years, and will continue to be so!
Mom