SCAREDY CAT DARE
Part 8 of 10 in Promises of God Series
Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could see into the future to know beforehand that everything will turn out alright? Don’t feel badly if you ever put off doing something for awhile, because you didn’t have that assurance. We are all kids, and we’re still learning to trust God. These “works in progress” (you and me) don’t appreciate having to wait for God’s answer to prayers before doing something. (After all, it seems right).
What if God tasks us to do something that we don’t want to do? The brakes we slam on don’t halt time, they just delay the inevitable...and our spiritual growth. One thing is sure: to whomever God brings a job will be held accountable for obedience. Or disobedience. Perhaps the most famous scaredy cat in the Bible is Gideon.
God wanted Gideon to save Israel from the Midianites. Judges 6:14 ends with what sounds like a dare: “Am I not sending you?” Gideon considered himself too weak to do this (Judges 6:15). Let someone else save Israel, we can almost hear him plead with God. Gideon needed constant reassurance. Gideon proposed a test to God, so that he’d know this task really came from the Almighty (vv. 36-39). (We might think that testing God is rude, or at least, irreverent!)
Gideon wanted dew to be on the wool fleece that was on the threshing room floor when he awoke. Gideon squeezed a bowlful of dew out of the fleece, the next morning! That should prove that this was from God.
But that wasn’t good enough for Gideon. “Don’t be angry with me...just one more request with the fleece.” Gideon begged. “This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew.” (Judges 6:39).
Are you kidding me? Who was daring whom? Well, that night, “God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.”
OK. Gideon was either the biggest scaredy cat, or the bravest human—ever! He does teach us how indulgent God is when His kids need assurance. Gideon also teaches us to trust in, depend fully on, and how to communicate face-to-face with an invisible God.
Take Home Nugget
People can be too independent, and never check out God’s plan for their lives. The opening Scripture says that only when we lean on God will our plans work out well. See the lesson link, below, for another Gideon-God interaction.
Show me that my “wants” lead to dead-ends
And that Your wise leading brings fruitful dividends.
JD Griffith
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What an honor it is to meet you!
My background is a life time of worship, but seriously following Jesus came with age. Spiritual maturity is a leap of faith. Sometimes we don’t know what we’re missing until living on the edge of God’s leading. My life of self sufficiency ended abruptly when losing my job as an analytical chemist after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Now living on the edge of God’s leading has become a way of life that I wouldn’t trade for anything else.
Surrendering one’s will to the Lord can be scary. Why did I wait so long to do it? Diving into an intimate relation with the sovereign God of creation is the most secure position in the universe. Will you share your experience with me? Will you let me give you my testimony? May I introduce you to the Jesus I know?