Obedient Not Fearless

Letting Go

One fall day two 12-year boys were walking in a park and they were doing what young boys do, they were climbing trees, seeing what kind of bugs they could find to scare the girls with, they were racing each other around the park to see who was the fastest. On the far end of the was a creek that was winding its way through the park and the boys were standing on the bank throwing rocks into it to see who could make the biggest splash and eventually they had an idea they wanted to try, to see who could jump the creek.

One of the boys said that he could do it with no problem and so the other offered a dare to him to prove it. The boy got a running start, going as fast as he could and jumped as far as he could, but it wasn’t far enough and he landed in the water. To his shock the little creek was much deeper than it seemed, plus there was a current that they didn’t know about, and it was pulling him down into the water. The creek they were playing around was a drainage creek and underneath the water many yards downstream was the drain it emptied into that the couldn’t see and it led to the reservoir. As he cried out for help the other one said he didn’t know how to swim and both started screaming.

Standing not far from them was a middle-aged man sitting on a bench reading a book and he heard the cry for help. It was the kind of scream that didn’t need much explanation, someone was in danger. The man rushed in the direction he heard the screams and he could see the boy waving at him and pointing to the creek. As he got closer he could see the boy in the water was struggling and right before he got to the bank, the young boy slipped beneath the water.

Without hesitation the man jumped into the creek fighting against the pull of the current himself, he couldn’t see the boy so he swam in the direction of the current, slipped  beneath the water and for what seemed like an eternity was able to grab the boys arm and he was able to pull them both to the bank of the creek and getting on to dry land they both collapsed from exhaustion.

By now others had arrived and were doing what they could to help, the parents of the boy were there now and they were thanking the man for saving their son’s life. An ambulance had been called to check them both and as the police officers were writing a report of what happened it was only then that they learned that the man that jumped in risking his life to save a stranger, couldn’t swim. They were trying to understand what caused him to jump in to help knowing he couldn’t swim, and it could have cost him his life. The man told them that he had a fear of the water all his life, never learned how to swim but the boy needed help and the only person that could help him, he said that even though his fear was still there, something made him jump in.

There are plenty of stories just like this, they aren’t rare, people doing great things, overcoming fear amid great tragedy. We often think, how can someone do something like that, to do something that they are greatly afraid of, maybe even asking ourself if we could do something like that if we were faced with that decision. We often see unlikely people turn into heroes in a moment’s notice. How can you do something you’re greatly afraid of?

There is an answer to this question in our scripture today. We see someone that didn’t want to be a hero, someone that goes out of his way to not put himself in danger and in a moment’s notice he is going to be faced with making that decision, if he can become a hero. The need for a hero comes from the Israelites disobedience to God. Israel has been on a rollercoaster of highs and lows when it comes to following the direction of God.

After the death of Joshua and the conquest of the promised land, the people of Israel call out to God asking for a new leader and they began to receive the “Judges.” God began to raise up judges to save them against any that would try to harm or plunder them, and the Lord was with the judge who would save them but after each judge dies, the people return to their old ways worshipping idols and bowing to other god’s. Each time this cycle repeats, it becomes worse than the time before.

Gideon is the next judge following Deborah that God has called to deliver Israel and when we look at who he is, he doesn’t seem like a very good choice to lead anyone, especially lead them into battle. Gideon was not who we picture a hero to be, wherever there is trouble, Gideon isn’t there, in fact it seems like because of his fear he goes out of his way to avoid any trouble at all so for God to call him of all people, there must be a reason why and if so, is there something we can learn about our lives?

Now it’s probably not hard to identify with Gideon, after all, who welcomes trouble into their lives? We don’t want to be involved in conflict, we seek peace at every turn and for a lot of people, they may not have aspirations of leadership of any kind, they just want to pass through life unnoticed, living their peaceful, uneventful life. Gideon is living that life when an angel comes to him and says, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor.” How can this be, calling him a mighty man of valor? But he was still called. God called him as he was, in all his imperfections, fear and his doubt.

Many of us probably have felt like Gideon did, like maybe we are not enough, that we don’t have anything of value to add to anyone or situation. We may see a person that is so full of doubt and worry that we can barely function and when we do, we have to force ourselves to put on a brave face and go out to try and fool the world. We see often hide behind our imperfections and our fears and they become obstacles keeping us from being anything or doing anything great, we hinder ourselves before we even get the chance to know who we really are, those fears hold us back, those ideas that we aren’t good enough keep us from ever finding out what we are capable of. While it’s true that only with our strength we are limited but when we have the power of God moving us, calling us, there is nothing we can’t do.

But maybe it’s hard for us to see what God sees in us, maybe we can’t see it at all, but God does see it and that is what matters because of what Gideon teaches us. We see ourselves in our earthly existence and when we look into a mirror the world holds up to us, we don’t see anything great staring back. This is what the world of sin we live in wants us to see, it wants to hold us back, never realizing what we can do when we give ourselves to God and allow His will to take control of our lives. But God isn’t looking at us through the mirror that the world uses because He looks at us differently, He looks at us the same way He looks at Gideon. God sees something  in Gideon, what could He see in us?

As Gideon is going about his life of merely just existing, he reaches a moment where he hears those screams from the children in the creek. He knows that something is going on and no one else is running over to help. When the Lord calls him, Gideon begins to offer excuses, telling the Lord that he is the weakest person from the weakest family and the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you…” This gives Gideon the courage to ask for a series of signs to prove that he is called, that the Lord will be with him which the Lord gives to Gideon and this reassures him.

When the Midianites and the people of the East cross the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he prepared for battle and raised a mighty army and the Lord came to Gideon saying he had too many men. Each time he reduced the number the Lord said it’s still too many, until he had only 300 men going against an army where the men where too many to count. He wanted Gideon to reduce the number so that no one could ever say that the battles they win, were won by their own hand, that it had to be the hand of God that was with them. This would not have reassured Gideon; it seems like the Lord is testing Gideon to see how much he trusted Him. Even then, the Lord would give him yet another sign that he didn’t ask for to comfort him in the battle ahead. Why would the Lord do this to Gideon knowing that he is already unsure and afraid.

The reason is that God did this for the same reason He does anything else, because He sees things that we can’t, he knows where the story is going and how to get there when we don’t. The Lord stood with Gideon amidst all of his fears to show that He has not left him and that He is Lord. Just like that mirror the world holds up to us we see ourselves in, we see doubt, second guessing every decision we ever make, makes us afraid of what’s beyond every corner of the world we face and can lead to this paralyzing fear that incapacitates us from doing anything, much less serving God. While Gideon worries, we worry, but God doesn’t. He doesn’t worry about how the battle is going to be won because He knows that the enemies of His kingdom can’t win, that it may be Gideon controlling the battle, but it’s God controlling Gideon. Can we see ourselves in this story?

When we let God control us, there is no battle that we can’t win, there is nothing that the world can throw at God that is going to make Him stumble, doubt or fear. Gideon had to get to a point where he let God take over, even if may not have been that enthusiastic about it and maybe we’re not either when it comes to giving up control to God. Gideon still was afraid, we can see fear in different forms in our lives today, but is that really a bad thing?

Many years ago, while I was a fireman, there was one firefighter that was always getting into something, nothing to bad, but he appeared to know what he was doing, and he would always say that he was never afraid to be the one going into a fire no matter what. One night while at the scene of a house fire, a team had to go into the house, and I was with him. We knew what we had to do before going into the house and how to get it done. Once inside, since he was leading, he kept leading us into a part of the house that wasn’t part of our plan, taking us into an area where what was left of the ceiling and roof had started to collapse and debris had started to fall on us. After what seemed to be an eternity, I finally got his attention and was able to get us out. I asked him why he did that, and he said he wasn’t scare and didn’t see what was happening. From that point on I decided that I’ll not engage anything with anyone who at the very least wasn’t a little worried.

There are going to be times when we experience fear, but fear doesn’t have to control us. Instead, fear can cause us to focus, and Gideon had this fear so he could focus on what lay ahead, fearfulness does not mean weakness. Fear of the water didn’t stop our hero from jumping in and saving the child and Gideon’s fear did not immobilize him, it focused him on God.

Our lives will be filled with moments of fear, uncertainty and doubt about our abilities to be a servant of God. This fear isn’t something to be overcome, but it must be resisted and tested, to see what God can do when we show up for the fight ahead and there will be fights. Gideon went on to win the battles before him, he was victorious because God was with him and not by his own hand. When we allow God to use us as He created us mighty things can happen just as they did with Gideon. God used what Gideon had to use for His purpose, which was his fear.

God uses us just the same way, he takes what we have, as he created us and uses it for His good and the good for others. When we realize that we are what God created, that we are made in the image of God we can free ourselves for God’s kingdom. There will be times when we will fail, and He understands that too. No matter the number of times Gideon needed to be reassured, God showed him that He was there, God didn’t grow tired of his requests, instead, He loved him through his calling, He loved him through his doubt and his fear and God loves us the same way.

God will take your fear, your questions and doubt and turn it into a miracle when we decide to jump into the water of our faith. When we move forward in the midst of fear, trusting God, we may not see what is beneath the water but we will emerge victorious.

Remember that God didn’t say that fearlessness was a requirement to serve him, only obedience.