God Knows We Need Encouragement
[9] That same night the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. [10] But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. [11] And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp.
[12] And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. [13] When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.”
[14] And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.”
Remember when Gideon was nervous and didn’t really believe God was calling him to rescue Israel? Gideon made God a deal to prove that God was really God.
God knows how Gideon is. He knows what kind of confidence he has and what he needs to keep going. This little event is just another gift from God to help Gideon the night before the battle. He might not have had the courage to go fight that huge army, but he had the courage to sneak around their tents at night.
Jesus is always interceding for us (Ro 8:34). He is always talking about us in a good way to the Father. He’s never condemning us (Ro 8:1) or regretting the fact that He saved us (John 10:28). So isn’t it clear that sometimes God would put signals in our path to encourage us along? Jesus wants us to grow in the depth and strength of our relationship with God. Jesus wants to help us along with encouragement from the scriptures, other believers, in spite of or sometimes with our circumstances.
When Gideon heard those words “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp,” he had confidence like never before in his life. Let’s listen to God and our fellow Christians to see what encouraging things they are saying to us that we might be missing.
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