” Now the Midianites and Amalekites, all the people of the East, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude.” Judges 7:12
Yes I am still hanging out with Gideon. Up to this point I was really focused on God’s commands to Gideon. Then I caught the metaphor of the locusts. We all have locusts in our lives. For Gideon and the Israelites they were the Midianites and the eastern people. If there were just a few of them it would not have been a big deal, but there were enough that they could keep coming and coming. The author of Judges gives a picture that there were so many that even their camels could not be counted. What are the locusts in our lives? Perhaps the economy, unemployment, illness, bad relationships, poor working conditions, low pay, debt, or expenses are some of the things that come together to overwhelm us.
“Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels; they invaded the land and ravaged it.” Judges 6:2
It is all too easy to focus on the Locust. We make the problems and issues of our lives the focus of our attention. This takes our attention off of God. When I lost my job in July of 2009, my attention was fully focused on the locust. I blew the trumpet and gathered my army and marched off to get a new job. When one job fell through after another I was crushed in my spirit. I had not been unemployed since I was 16. I looked over my army and felt ready to march against the locust again. I felt that I gave God his due, asking him to bless my army and assuring him that when he blessed me with a new job I would serve him as never before. BUT the whole time my eyes were not on GOD they were on the locust. My focus was not on what God would have me do but on gathering my army and setting off to battle the locusts on MY terms with MY army….in God’s name of course….
So perhaps you have already read “What do you do when God says send your army home”. So I sent my army home. Don’t get me wrong I am still out there looking for a job but my focus is on GOD and the blessing have been incredible. The opportunities for ministry have multiplied. I don’t want you to get that unemployment is intrinsically a blessing from God or that we should just sit back and wait for God to do it all. Gideon had to step way out of his comfort zone. He had to tear his focus away from the Locust and move it onto God.
God anchored this focus by leading him directly into the middle of the locusts. While he was hiding in the middle of perhaps 135,000 locusts God let him know that HE IS THE GOD OF THE LOCUSTS TOO. And what happened to Gideon?
” When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has given the camp of Midian into your hands.” Judges 7:15
Gideon worshiped. There in the middle of the locusts, Gideon’s focus shifted to God. The fear was gone. The contentment that Paul talks about settled in
Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity ; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:11-13
Gideon found the source of strength that Paul is talking about. He was ready to go with God and the 300 men chosen to serve God in a unique and miraculous way. He was ready to follow God to victory. The locusts were defeated the moment Gideon took his eyes off of them and put them on God. The Spiritual victory won that day far outstrips the footnote in history that the real defeat of the Midianites amounts to.
Lord help me to truly keep my focus on you and thank you for the opportunities for Spiritual Victory that you provide for my family and I. Amen
Fan Into Flame Ministries 