POWER THOUGHT:
What Are You Talking
About? It Does Matter!
Scripture: Psalms 35:27 & 28
“Let
them shout for joy and be glad, who favor my righteous cause; and let them say continually, Let the Lord be
magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant. And my tongue shall speak of Your
righteousness and of Your praise all the day long.”
In the
Book of Judges, Chapter 6, there is a powerful story of a man named Gideon. His
life and that of his family, and even broader than that, the children of Israel
are about to be changed. But first God had to change this man’s very poor self-
image so that His will could be performed. Gideon had to be willing.
Here was a man
threshing wheat by the winepress, trying to survive, while hiding from his
enemies. Gideon's experiences had taught him that every time he would sow something
and produce crops, his enemies would come and steal from him. But, when his
people began to cry out to God for answers, something wonderful happened.
In
essence, the Lord said that He had brought them up from Egypt and out of the
house of bondage. He told them He had delivered them out of the hands of all
who oppressed them and, not only that, but He gave them their land. He also
told them, I am the Lord, your God. (God is interested in you as an
individual!) Do not fear their gods in whose land you dwell, but you have not
obeyed my voice.
What was
God saying? I had a great plan for you . . . but you forgot and chose another
direction.
In verse 12, it says, “And the Angel of the
Lord appeared to him and said to him, "The Lord is with you, you mighty
man of valor!” Gideon, in shock that
someone thought that highly of him said, "0h my Lord, if the Lord is with
us, why then has all this happened to us?
And where are all the miracles, which our Fathers told us about saying,
did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now He has forsaken us and
delivered us into their hands.” Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in
this might of yours and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites,
have I not sent you?” So Gideon said to the Lord, “How can I save Israel?
Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh and I am the least in my Father's
house.”
Can you
relate to some of the questions that Gideon asked God?
Let’s look at some
powerful truths:
1. God
brought the children of Israel out of bondage to bring them into something
great.
2.
When they took their eyes off of God-and quit
talking about His greatness and all that He had done for them and was planning
to do, they began to fear and fell captive to their enemies. Fear leads to a
feeling of despair that then leads to questioning the faithfulness of God.
3. God had to get Gideon to see himself in
the light of who He was and what His purposes were for him. That is why God
addressed him as "a mighty man of valor" when, in essence, Gideon, at
that time, was anything but a man of valor. He was literally hiding himself
from his enemies. He was living in fear.
Gideon basically said to God, “Do you realize who you are talking to? Don't you
know, God, there is not anyone who has any respect for our family. We are the least in the city?”
In verse
24, after God had convinced Gideon he was a mighty man of valor, it says that
Gideon built an altar and called it,
“The
Lord is Peace.” He then became what God
declared him to be when he accepted and declared who God was to him.
4. The
exciting principle here for everyone who puts their faith and trust in God is
that peace and prosperity are God's ideas. The literal meaning in Hebrew for
these two words, peace and prosperity, both in the Old Testament and New Testament,
is Shalom. Take this to heart today - Shalom means the following:
To be
made safe in mind, body or estate
To be
complete
To make
restitution and restoration
To fare
well - to be prosperous and whole!
As our
leading scripture so clearly affirms, if you will favor God's righteous cause,
which has so much to do with your conversation, the Lord will be magnified. As
you go about the Father’s business growing in the knowledge of His intentions
that He has established in His Word, prosperity and peace will be the
outworking of this lifestyle which gives the Father much pleasure!
That is
how you (Let) the Lord be magnified.
He is a
God of restoration of that which has been lost.
5.
Gideon had to destroy the altars of Baal that his family had set up before God
could give him victory.
Did you
know that one of the big mindsets today that can hinder you fulfilling your
dream is unbelief? Doubting the goodness
of God is unbelief. Everyone believes in
something or someone. Check out who or what your confidence is in. Words like,
"My family never has had anything.
It won't change now or, where I live there are no opportunities or, no
one believes in God like that, and I don’t suppose I can expect a promotion
this year?” etc. etc. Are all self-inflicting words that bring defeat, despair
and open the door for lack to come into your life.
Gideon
had a choice to stay with the “same old image” or go with God’s image.
The same
choice is yours. Apply that truth to your situations in life and watch out!
Realize
that if “what you have been talking about” is not what God has to say about you
or your situations, now is the time to begin speaking of His righteousness and
all He has planned for you through faith in His Word! And it shall come to
pass!
Decide today
to become a mighty man or woman of valor. This means to become a person of
virtue, a person of strength, of might, of power, riches and substance. Decide
to agree with God!
Start
today. That is God’s plan for you!
