During a prayer meeting, my sister prayed, "Lord, make me a sword for You to tear down the enemy's strategies." As I studied Judges and Gideon's story, I pondered the meaning of being a sword for the Lord.
At first, it sounded like an ideal request to the Lord, but the reality of these words is reflected in the Gideon story. I came across the lines he told the warriors to proclaim when they went to battle "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon". For the very first time I pondered, what does it mean to be a sword for the Lord?
Before the Lord asked Gideon to make this profound and life-changing declaration He did "the thinning process". The Lord had already given his word to Gideon that he would give him victory but then after Gideon gathered men for war God also said to him in...
Judges 6:2 (NIV)
The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’
The Lord thinned out his army from 32,000 to 300 men (Judges 6:2-3, 7:7). This reduction seemed ridiculous, but the battle wasn't about Gideon's strength; it was the Lord's.
In the moments before the battle and victory, Gideon was lost in an emotion of doubt, fear, and discouragement.
Yes! The Lord wanted this moment so he wouldn't trust in his own strength, skill, or expertise but also the Lord wanted him to trust in His words.
Similarly, in our lives, the Lord takes us through challenges, stripping away relationships, habits, and weights that hinder our trust in Him.
This battle represents most seasons in my life and it can also be in your life too. After the Lord has given us a promise, and we go on to experience a wave of ups and downs, in that very moment the Lord is thinning us, not just physically of relationships and places that aren't needed for a victorious life but He is ridding us off the weights that would threaten His swordsman in battle.
The thinning process can be difficult most times, painful some other times, and a basket full of uncertainty. This is because there are times he thins out of the precious relationships, jobs and careers that we pride ourselves in, the businesses, and several other weights. At this moment, he is saying "I want you to trust me more".
God didn't forget you, God is thinning you for victory. However, God's strategy is not to abandon us but to prepare us for victory. As Revelation 12:14 (NIV) says, The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach.
God's word reminds us that He has already given us victory. Our enemies know it, and we must trust in His words, not our own strength.
Stay Revived!
By Guest writer.
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