The Lord told Gideon, "With these three hundred men I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites. Send all the others home." —Judges 7:7
Remember the story of Gideon in the Old Testament Book of Judges? Gideon had a fairly large army of 32,000 men. But he had a much larger adversary in the Midianites, who numbered in the thousands and thousands.
God came to Gideon one day and told him that his army was too big. He told Gideon to call the men together and say, "Whoever is timid or afraid may leave and go home." Gideon obeyed the Lord, and 22,000 men said, "We're out of here." God thinned the ranks once more, and Gideon was left with 300 men.
Why did God do that? He was looking for those who would stand up for Him, for those who would make a sacrifice.
In the same way, time will tell whether you are a true follower of Jesus Christ. It will be determined on the battlefield, not in a church service where everyone is praising the Lord together. Time will tell you whether you have truly gone forward spiritually. It will be determined by how you hold up when the first difficulties come, when the first temptations come, and when the first persecution comes.
I remember how things changed when I became a follower of Jesus Christ. I was harassed and mocked by friends I had known for many years. I recognized immediately that if I followed Christ, I would lose some so-called friends, and it would not always be easy.
If you are willing to endure, then you will have the greatest adventure imaginable in serving the Lord. God is looking for men and women to enlist in His army for His divine Delta Force.
Copyright © 2008 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
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