Christian greetings to each of you at the end of this monumental year 2000! As I write this, we are in the last couple of days before we begin the new year, and the switch from one year to another is a perfect time to look back over the last year meditating on God’s goodness, and look ahead to God’s will for us in the year to come. Christy and I have been doing this in a more specific way than normal because of the fact that we arrived here in Ghana on the 26th of December last year, so we are looking back over our first year as missionaries as well as the year 2000. We have been studying the life of Gideon some over the last weeks and have been applying some of what occurred in Gideon’s life to our life and ministry here over the past year. Once again we have marveled over God’s faithful goodness to us in so many different circumstances, including the birth of our sweet, healthy little daughter 2 weeks ago!! (See the announcement in the last Mission Newsletter), and feel that the story of Gideon encapsulates beautifully the feelings we have when reviewing God’s loving guidance and encouragement throughout the whole year.
What I would like to share here is definitely an application to the scriptural account of Gideon, and not strictly my interpretation of this story and its meaning to us as New Testament believers. I am asking you to allow me some freedom to apply these scriptures to our lives over the last year, and maybe you will also see aspects of your own journey in the story of Gideon as we have applied it to ourselves. My desire is that those of you who have prayed for us throughout this last year would also join with us in praising God for His blessings during this period and most specifically for all of the “wet fleeces on very dry ground.” Walk with me through these “praise ponderings.”
God’s Calling and Gift of Courage to the Weak-hearted
A quick look at the circumstances surrounding Gideon’s call will assure us right from the start that he was not a superman, a spiritual giant full of faith. He was rather a very downcast and doubtful man who was hiding in the winepress threshing grain so that the Midianites would not find it! In his heart there was still an element of faith, but in the face of such difficult times his actions and attitude showed that doubt had gained the upper hand. It would seem to us that Gideon was a hidden, shrinking sort of man, who feared conflict and had a very low view of his own value. But wait, how does the angel address him?; “The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.” (Judges 6:12) We say to ourselves, “a man of valor?” It is clear by Gideon’s responses to the angel’s words that he is asking the same question. But the angel continues and says, “Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel.…” I can almost picture Gideon looking down at his body thinking to himself, “What might is he speaking about?”. How often we have done the same! We have heard the call of God to some work or responsibility, and in our heart we have questioned whether God has gotten the right person.
But in our lives, as in the story before us, God does not answer each of our little doubts and questions. Rather, He sweeps them all away with 5 little words loaded with meaning and power, “Have not I sent you?” Hallelujah! In these words we see all that is really important about Gideon. Victory was not to be won through him because of his family status, his personal strength, or his great faith in Jehovah up until now; it was going to be won through him because he was being sent!! When the angel spoke of him as a man of valor, he spoke in the reality of his calling, when he told him to go in the strength he had, he knew that inside of the call of God was all the strength that would be necessary to fulfil all that its accomplishment would require. This is not to say that Gideon had nothing at all to do with it, since we can be certain that God chose a willing, even if not faith-filled individual. But the reality of man’s willingness in no way detracts from the power that lay in the calling of Gideon. Was he a man of small authority? God’s call gave him all the force he needed to command an army. Was he naturally a fearful man? God’s call, confirmed repeatedly, as we will see, gave him the courage that he needed to take on the Midianite army against the incredible odds of 450 to 1!! Oh, the blessed, vital energy in the call of God!
Almost exactly one year ago, as we were preparing to move here, we wrote our first article in which we described the Konkombas and the work that God was calling us to. In that update, we wrote these words, “In every area of our lives we see God’s fingerprints, revealing to us that He has gone before us, and yet we still hear His precious voice behind us saying, ‘This is the way, walk ye in it.’” One year later, we still wholeheartedly attest to the truth of these words! But to be honest with our own weaknesses and God’s grace, there have been many moments, both before and since we have been here, that we have had more of a doubting attitude than one of faith like the penned lines quoted above. There have been many times that we have been faced with a situation that seemed so far beyond our capacity, whether of wisdom, grace, or faith, that we have wondered deep inside whether maybe God made a mistake in choosing us.
In these moments, we have thought of a thousand reasons why others should be here instead of us, why they were more qualified, etc., and asked ourselves what power it was that God had told us to go in. But, praises to God, in these moments, God does not sit down beside us and try to convince us that we are up to the task at hand. He only reaffirms the truth that brings everything else into perspective, the fact that He sent us here. Oh, the freedom, Oh, the joy, oh, the courage that flows out of that simple truth being applied to our life and ministry once again!! We may not be qualified for the tasks ahead, and indeed we are not, but the simple truth that we have been sent by the Lord Himself, coupled with a willingness to obey in faith, is all the qualification that is needed to fulfil some of God’s greatest victories! Once again, God brings us to the basics; Have I been sent?, and, Am I willing to obey?, and that answers all of the other swirling questions of doubt and inability that would incapacitate us to fulfil God’s plan for us. It is true that we should seek to be qualified in every area possible through prayer, bible study, etc., but there has been such a rest in knowing that we have been called and that that is ENOUGH! We praise God for His repeated gifts of courage throughout this last year, given not with accompanying thunder and lightening, but given through the quiet bedrock of our call and commitment to obey it!
God’s Commencement and Gift of Confirmations of His Will
As we continue to walk through the story of Gideon we move out of the realm of God’s calling and into the commencement of actual obedience. Gideon now begins to follow through with some of the call that God has just given to him. He moves forward, somewhat timidly, to break down an idol grove and builds an alter to the Lord on the spot. Then the Midianites begin massing for another offensive, camping against Israel. In verse 34 we read, “But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet....” We see in Gideon a willingness to obey, a yieldedness that allowed the spirit of God to control him, yet we still see some of the same doubt and fear creeping up into his heart as the soldiers begin to gather around him that we saw above when the angel met him the first time. Remember that he watched the angel do a miracle in front of his eyes, he saw how the Lord protected him from the crowd who wanted to kill him for smashing their grove. He experienced all of this, yet in this decisive hour when the thousands of newly recruited soldiers began to look to him for direction, he felt a need for confirmation. The beautiful thing is that God, in His mercy, gave it to him not once, but several times! God saw that Gideon was sincere, saw from his obedience so far that he was willing, only he still struggled with some doubts about whether he had really heard the voice of God. He lovingly gave to His servant the needed confirmation that would calm his doubts and inspire his faith, a visible sign that he could feel. A sheepskin laid out at night; in the morning, dry ground all around and a bowl full of water wrung out of the fleece! Then God reversed it the next night, proving once again both His calling and command to Gideon, and His longsuffering guidance to those who want to obey!!
This is the specific application that initially gripped my heart in relation to our lives here over the last year. I stand continually amazed at the mercy and gentleness of God in His dealings with us when He knows that in our heart of hearts we want to obey Him! When we look at these past months, we feel that the picture of dry ground all around with Gideon squeezing a bowl full of water out of the fleece describes perfectly our experience. All that we left to come here, the circumstances of life that we now face everyday, the strains of ministry, the heat and sometimes ill health, the adjustments we have had to make, all of these are “dry ground” so to speak, things that could take away from a sense of joy and surety that we are in the right place. But, if I may say it again, to be honest with God’s goodness to us, our daily experience is not at all one of “dry ground.” We feel as though we daily go out and find the fleece of God’s grace, joy, and contentment in our lives soaking wet with God’s goodness and we squeeze out yet another bowl full!!
When we do struggle (and we do at times), with whether we are supposed to be here or are cut out for this job, we look once again to the daily fleece, and find ourselves filled with the assurance again that though sometimes the going is tough, we could never find this joy, delight, and satisfaction in our lives if we were not living in His will. Let me hasten to say, lest I be misunderstood, that I am not referring to everything being rosy as an indication of being in God’s will, for if that were the case, we would be on the next plane home! Rather, I am speaking about the inner sense of peace, joy, and contentment that is unshakable, though the outer circumstances are not conducive to these feelings. But, “When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, what a glory He sheds on our way”!! His smile on our lives, seen in the little physical blessings He sends, or in the inner ones He gives to us when we need His gentle confirmation, is so very, very wonderful and the ecstasy of walking in it is beyond compare. I am sure you know that I am not saying we always obey, or that we never wander from God’s will for us; I am rather rejoicing, not in OUR staying in God’s will, but in HIS goodness to continually confirm to us that we are right where He wants us, though the surrounding circumstances would say otherwise. Space will not allow specific examples, but suffice it to say that there have been many such occurrences in the last year. God’s confirmation into our hearts as we commence the fulfillment of His plan for us here has been our lifeline at times throughout this year, and we give Him praise for His gentle goodness to us in this area!
God’s Commands and Gift of a Concealed Glimpse of the Victory Ahead
Follow the story of Gideon yet once more with me; after the double confirmation in the wet and dry fleece, Gideon immediately leads his army towards the enemy camp. Moving forward with this army of 32,000 to fight an army of 135,000 is a real step of obedient faith, but God is not done stretching Gideon’s trust in Him! He commands Gideon to remove from his army those that are afraid, and when Gideon obeys, more than two-thirds of his army leaves! Gideon continues to obey in faith as God whittles his army down to a mere 300 troops, and he is camped with them, poised for attack, just above the huge enemy camp. In the middle of the night comes the command, “Get up, go down to the army of Midian, I have delivered it over to you.” Remember with me the fact that when Gideon asked God for the 2 confirmations that He would rescue Israel through his army, Gideon was surrounded, not by a small group of 300, but by an army of 32,000! For God to win victory with that number seemed to be possible if you looked at it with faith, and Gideon had even obeyed God as he pared down the force to only 300, but now he needed another assurance, another signboard on the way that convinced him that he was indeed hearing from God. And once again, the beautiful thing is that God knew what His servant needed, and He did not chide or reprove him for his lack of confidence; He did not even wait until Gideon asked for a confirmation. In chapter 7, verses 10 and 11, God said to him, “But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Purah thy servant down to the host: and thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thy hand be strengthened....” God sent him down for a hidden preview of the victory that was to be won, gave him the opportunity to look behind the scenes and see the ways in which God was already working to insure the final victory, even though Gideon’s men were still sleeping up on the mountain. This concealed glimpse of what was about to happen, this undercover intelligence that only God could provide, was exactly what Gideon needed and he went back, woke his men, and went on to claim the overwhelming victory for the “sword of the Lord and of Gideon” that we all know about! What an incredible story of God’s longsuffering guidance to help His servant to fulfil His will, and what an marvelous testimony of the power of God to take a weak but willing vessel and outfit it for His purposes!!
As we close out this article today on the back door of the year 2000 and on the threshold of 2001, the above saga of Gideon is our personal experience. We have begun our work here following God’s commands, but as we continue to go deeper into the heart and culture of our people, and work in an ever widening area, we are confronted with the enormity of both the task and the enemy. At times this realization, along with all of the problems and challenges that come with ministry, threaten to remove us from the path of God’s will for us here by making us pull back to our comfort zone. We do desire to see the Kingdom of God raised up here in the hearts and lives of the Konkombas, and we are willing to obey, only at times we would rather stay in our tent on the mountain than to go out to face the hordes of our evil enemy. We feel at times that our numbers are too small, both in experience and spiritual power, to effectively fight to see the church of Christ raised up here. But, in these times, God is faithful, and we rejoice that Gideon’s God is our God!!
In the same way that God lovingly allowed His servant the reassurance that he needed to go forward in faith, He continues to give us little glimpses of the victory that is ahead. He allows us to see the beauty of His character in the life of a Konkomba believer here and there, He gives us the encouragement of hearing the foundations of evil begin to shake in several villages, and He continues to give us visions in our hearts of the future church that He desires to raise up here, standing firmly against the evil that surges around us! In all of these ways and more He confirms in our hearts the fact that we are here at His command, and that victory, though not always apparent on the surface, will be the final outcome of our labors here! How we thank him for His continued gentle guidance of us, calling us unmistakably to be here, commanding us to step out in faith, and assuring us with His confirmations when we are discouraged! Though we may have our struggles, the overarching expression of our hearts as we close this year is expressed in the words of this song;
“Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, Just to take him at
His word; Just to rest upon His promise; Just to
know, ‘Thus saith the Lord.’I’m so glad I learned to trust thee, Precious Jesus,
Savior, Friend; And I know that thou art with me,
wilt be with me to the end.Jesus, Jesus, how we trust you, How we’ve proved
you o’er and o’er! Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! Oh,
for grace to trust you more!”
In praise of past faithfulness, and hope for the future,
Daniel & Christy and Abigail Kenaston
