The story of Gideon is the story of the Lord at work. This is summed up
in (a) Gideon’s call - “The Lord is with you, brave man ... You will
rescue Israel from Midian with the strength you have. I am sending you”
(Judges 6:12,14). (b) Gideon’s victory over the Midianites - “Attack!
The Lord will hand Midian’s camp over to you” (Judges 7:15). There is
also a warning for us. Even those who have been used by the Lord can
fall into Satan’s trap. Gideon made a gold idol, and “it became a trap
for Gideon and his family” (Judges 8:27).
We read about Elijah in his high-points of strength - the triumph over the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:36-39) - and his low-points of weakness - he is ready to give up: “I’ve had enough now, Lord” (1 Kings 19:4). How did Elijah get into such a mess? He forgot this: “The Lord’s power was on Elijah” (1 Kings 18:46). In all life’s ups and downs, we must hold on to this: The Lord has sent His Spirit of power to live in us (2 Timothy 1:7). How are we to live in the power of the Spirit? We need to feed on the Word of God and drink in the Word of God (1 Kings 17:4). We need to pray that the Lord will send His showers of blessing (1 Kings 17:14). We are to live our life “according to the Word of the Lord” (1 Kings 17:16). For our life of faith to be strong in the Lord, we need to listen attentively to the preaching of God’s Word (1 Kings 17:24).
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