We are living in times where we are faced with life’s ups and downs.

Only God knows what we will be faced with in this life. These are life’s battles that we have to contend with. A battle is a conflict, struggle, fighting or forces we are faced with. We are not exempted as Christians from battles.

If it does not involve us directly, we are still touched because the problems of our loved ones and friends that affects us too. These are battles that we are not able to handle on our own. These situations will either draw us closer to the Lord or they will cause us to loose our faith.

When we stop and realize that the Lord knows everything that we will be faced with in life, this can give us reassurance that nothing catches Him by surprise. His word tells us that he will never leave us or forsake us. However, we often turn to other means instead of turning to the Lord for answers when we are faced with difficult moments.

God is bigger than our problems and he wants us to trust Him at all times. The Bible tells us to lean not on our own understanding but in all of our ways acknowledge Him and He will direct our path. We are to look to Jesus whom all of our help comes from. We can not fight our battles in our own strengths. We must depend totally on God to help us. Only when we begin to obey God, he will give us the courage and strength to move forward.

I am reminded of the story of Gideon and his battle in the Book of Judges. The purpose was to show that God’s judgment against sin is certain and his forgiveness is just as certain as for those who repent.

Gideon was Israel’s fifth judge. He was a military strategist who was an expert at surprise.

Gideon was a farmer, warrior and a judge. His clan was the weakest in Manasseh. God can use us in spite of our limitations and failures.

Gideon’s father, Joash, worshiped Baal (Judges 6:25). Gideon is also mentioned in the Book of Hebrews, Chapter 11, Verse 32. The Israelites did evil in the eyes of God, so He gave them into the hands of the Midianites.

When the Israelites cried to the Lord, he sent them a leader and that was Gideon.

Today, God still sends leaders to lead his people. Being a Godly leader calls for being courageous in the face of the enemy.

When you are doing God’s work, you are faced with more opposition from the forces of evil. God will equip his leaders to do his work and be successful if everything is followed through according to God’s plan. We are not to get the glory, but only God gets the glory.

Gideon initially relied on his own plan when choosing his army for battle. He had not fully relied on God for directions. He started out with 32,000 men, but God told him that was too many. God wanted to get the victory and not Gideon.

Sometimes God has to interrupt our plans if they are not based on Him and his directions. It is not about us but, always about Him.

Twenty-two-thousand men were afraid because they did not trust God. We must not be afraid when following Christ.

Ten-thousand men still remained for battle, but that was still too many men for God to get the victory.

“The Lord said to Gideon, there are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, this one shall go with you, he shall go, but if I say this one shall not go with you, he shall not go. The Lord told Gideon separate those who lap the water with their tongue like a dog from those who kneel down to drink. Three-hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees (Judges 7:4-6).”

God is not interested in a crowd or impressed with numbers. He takes pleasure in our obedience and sincere hearts to serve Him and give the glory to Him.

In closing, if we follow Jesus, we must put our feelings and thoughts aside and be led by Him through the Holy Spirit. We must remember that the battle is not ours, but it belongs to the Lord (II Chronicles 20:15).

Prayer: Dear Father, teach us by the example you used with Gideon to always pray and talk to you for directions when you call us on a task. Help us to serve with love, humility and peace. In Jesus’ name. Amen!