The ADVENTURE Of Trusting God

 The LORD said to Gideon, "I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped."  Judges 7:7, HCSB


This morning in my scripture reading, I read from Judges 7.  The above verse leaped out.  God’s promise to Gideon, “I will deliver you….”  To stop and meditate on that truth provides encouragement!  Then I read a Twitter post by my son, “David & Goliath is not about slaying the big problems in our life, but about trusting in God to deliver.  David shows faith, & so should we.”  Do you note the use of the same word – deliver?

If God delivers, then I can trust Him to deliver.  Trusting God means I can be confident in Him to obey His commands.  As the old hymn says, “Trust and obey, for there’s NO OTHER WAY, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”

After thinking of that scripture and that truth, I began to think of the “adventures” life affords us as we live for Him.  I reflected upon mission trips to Malaysia, Alaska, Wyoming, China, New York, Gulfport, Niger, Vermont, Connecticut, Bangladesh, Canada, etc.  God has given me numerous opportunities to serve Him outside my “comfort zone,” and in every circumstance, God has delivered.  As an act of faith, we should trust God to deliver and obediently serve Him in our day-to-day.

God is looking for people who will "stand."  When the army of the Midians came against the Israelites, Gideon called for the men of Israel to defend.  Initially he gathered together a large army of 32,000 men.  Through a strange test of obedience, God reduced them to a mere handful of men.  In 32,000 men who responded, God could trust 300 to stand with Him.

When Goliath taunted the people of God, well-trained and capable men cowarded as a result of his jeering.  Young David trusted God to deliver.

I remember vividly right at daybreak arriving at the airport in Malaysia.  We had been scheduled to go in October 2001, but we were not allowed to fly from the United States that day.  The “War on Terror” actually began as a result of 9/11.  We were delayed until January 2002.  As we arrived, we were met by 4 men with only broken English.  We were ushered into waiting jeeps with several other men (still no one that “looked like us”).  We headed off to wherever they were taking us.  I remember praying, “God, I hope these are the men we were supposed to meet because I have no idea what is going on here.”  I trusted God, and He delivered!

Similar scenarios have taken place during other mission trips.  In China when we experienced the worship of an underground church service we stumbled upon outside a village; In Malaysia where people waited hours in 95-degree heat “just in case the Americans might preach;” In Niger when we spent 2 hours with the village Imam and he declared in the hearing of the crowds that had gathered with us under that tree, “Surely this Jesus you talk about must be the Son of God.”  And similar scenarios occur near and far, at home or abroad, as we trust God and stand firm in obedience to His commands.

Going back to Gideon and his 300 men, God saw that they were men who would stand and never quit.  Because they were men who would stand and never quit, He dismissed the rest.  We know the story, with just a small army of three hundred, He proceeded to defeat the Midianites.  With David, there was the same level of commitment.  As he stood, God used him to bring down the enemy.  As already stated, we need to learn the same truth – God delivers so trust Him to give you the victory as you obey Him!

God has always done His greatest work in and through a small number of people, and sometimes strange (impossible seeming) tactics.  This is why, when it comes to spiritual victories, we just need to forget about the idea of numbers and what “makes sense” to us.  With God – as the scripture declares – ALL THINGS are possible.  So, we should learn to “trust and obey!”

God wants men and women today who are prepared to "stand."  Men and women whose feet are "shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace."  He will not entrust great responsibility to people whom He knows will not "stand," for that would be an exercise in fruitlessness.

The question before you today is simple, “Are you standing for God?”  In the environment in which God has placed you for this season, are you indeed standing for God?   

As in Gideon's day, God is looking for people who will take their stand on His Word, no matter what the world throws at us.  God is looking for people who will stand firm and commit themselves to doing what He asks even though they may not feel like it or see the sense of it.  Are you such a person?  If you indeed are, hang on – get ready for the exciting spiritual adventures that lie ahead!