Skeptics: The Testing Kind

Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more: Let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew.” And God did so that night.

Judges 6:39-40 (NKJV)

Gideon is God’s most famous tester. During Israel's war-torn history and within the shaky age of Judges…

 When morality became relative, God tested and commissioned Gideon,

But…

Gideon also tested God– three times! While Gideon showed the Lord great respect, he asked, in return, for great assurance: confirmations that God was truly God.

God did all that Gideon requested, and Gideon did all that God required. Their fascinating collaboration spans three chapters in Judges 6-8.

Therefore,

Gideon, God’s reverential skeptic, was lifted into the Faith Hall of Fame.*

On the other hand, far more Bible stars obeyed God’s Commandments without question.

For instance,

Abraham, faith’s first and founding father, 'Went out, not knowing where he was going' (Hebrews 11:8).

So…

  • Where does that leave Christians, who have questions?

  • Do we ask boldly… or wait patiently?

  • Do we go forth… or ask confirmation?

Jesus said, 'Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find' (Matthew 7:7).

Does God expect instant obedience?

Consider one man who asked for more time:

  • ' 'Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house'... Jesus said to him, 'No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God' (Luke 9:61-62).

My own conclusion:

I believe we serve an all-knowing God, Who judges us as individuals.

  • Whether we come first and reflect later,

  • Or reflect first (and SOON follow through)…

  • Each Christian’s walk with Jesus is unique.

Of great importance is our WILLINGNESS– our YES, which opposes complacency.

Because the words 'complacent' and 'Christian' are decisively incompatible.

Skeptics: The Testing Kind (Part 5)

* Summary of the Story of Gideon: http://christianity.about.com/od/oldtestamentpeople/a/Gideon.htm

* Full Bible Story of Gideon (NKJV) in Judges 6-8: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=judges%206-8&version=NKJV

* Faith Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11: http://christianity.about.com/od/biblefactsandlists/tp/Hebrews-11-Heroes-Of-Faith.htm; http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2011&version=NKJV

* Short Commentary on Testing God: http://www.gotquestions.org/prayer-fleece.html    

NOTE: God is my Ghostwriter. If what I write is good, it’s from God. You may see notes to 'Actors, Models & Talent for Christ.' If you think you're not in show business, think again. Shakespeare said, 'All the world's a stage and all its men and women merely players. Mostly true. But you're not merely players. You are messengers and ambassadors for the King of kings. This series is a re-write of a prior 2014 series.  

Carey Arban