Seeking Today's Gideons
"Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained." (Judges 7:3)
The ultimate test of faith is to step up to giants when God calls on us. As Christ followers, if we learn of injustices, we are called to take action no matter how unpopular it is to take a stand, or blood will be on our own hands. The book of Judges is filled with high drama as the people of God continually live in disobedience and then cry out to Yahweh to help them get out from under the oppressive governments that they have allowed to rule over them. When God’s people do not stay in tuned with him, there will always be consequences. In the case of ancient Israel, the people were continually worshipping idols and foreign gods, seeking pleasures and prosperity from these ideological entities.
God is always ready to set up warriors who he can use to rise up as a people who will fight and stand for truth and justness. Unfortunately, there are more cowards than warriors. We see this several times in Scripture. In the Exodus, we see 12 spies go into Cannan and only two of them trust that God will actually be with them as they move into battle. The entire army of Israel cowers in the background under Saul’s command when they are called to fight the Philistine giant. Here in Judges, we see twenty-two thousand men leave because the do not trust in the power and protection of the God of Israel.
Is today’s Church any different from ancient Israel? Focusing on the facts alone, for the last fifty years, the American Church has compromised greatly to accommodate the culture. The compromises range from premarital sex and living together to accepting other religions as valid ways to eternal peace with the Creator. Where are the Gideons? The modern church has failed to remind its congregations who we are as humanity as we stand before a holy God, as well as the beauty of living in a country that is founded on biblical principles.
We have allowed godless leaders to push the voice of God out of the public square and in so doing we are subjected to the whims of an evil oppressive government, much like the Israelites in the days of the Judges. Where are the Gideons of today? Why does the church continue to compromise? Jesus told his disciples that the gate to life is very narrow and only a few will find it (Matt. 7:13-14). True blessing and growth only comes when we step out of our comfort zone and trust that God will back us up, just as he did with Gideon. God will honor your resolve to stand for godly principles that require action.