Fling Your Fleece

Judges 6:12-13 AMP

And the Angel of the Lord appeared and said to him, The Lord is with you, mighty man of courage. And Gideon said, O sir, if the Lord is with us, why has all of this befallen us and where are all of your wondrous works of which our fathers told us…

Judges 6:36-40

And Gideon said to God, If You will deliver Israel by my hand as You have said, look I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will deliver Israel by my hand, as You have said. And that is what happened. When he rose early the next morning; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew-a bowlful of water.

Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry, all the ground was covered with dew.

Gideon. Not much of a believer in himself, but he believed in the much of God. We are sometimes quick to convict the soon to be judge for needing a sign, but lets examine his heart before we grab the gavel.  Gideon is one of my favorites. As a matter of fact, he inspired the name of this blog. His answers and questions to The Angel of the Lord (Jesus),  resonate with me and probably you. “The Lord is with you, mighty man of courage.” Mighty man of courage? Who? Me? I can imagine Gideon standing to his feet with that same disbelief we sometimes have. You know, it’s that confusion we experience when another person detects some God trait within us that we have yet to perceive. Our ears hear the words but our minds can’t assimilate the message. An in one ear and out the other moment. Mighty man was certainly not the image Gideon saw in the mirrors of that day.  Nope. He was hiding. No reflection of courage there, only fear.  His response to The Angel’s declaration of Gideon’s identity? Dismissal. Not mentioned. But….The Angel knew what Gideon didn’t. Our comprehension of whose we are and who we are impacts our apprehension of where we are being sent.

“O sir, if the Lord is with us, why is all this befallen us?”  Translation….these circumstances make it seem that God is nowhere around.  I do that. I’m in that season right now, actually.  I’m sure you’ve been there as well. Great health, thriving family, unity in relationships. Ahhh….God IS with me.  Depleting health, struggles with family, broken relationships. God? Where?  I’m feeling pretty alone. Overlooked. Forgotten, as a matter of fact.  Like a tree in winter, our arms stretch upward requesting answers, yet, no sign of answers budding anywhere. Our inclination to allow circumstances to dictate our perception of His Presence can create a deluge of doubt. Our disbelief in the identity He speaks into us can become a destructive torrent. Gideon breezed on past who God said he was, but its paramount to the rest of his story. Identity is a thing. A big thing. Because we are here to change the world with His power and Presence that blazes within us. Jesus bombs sent to detonate His glory. That’s us.

Gideon makes his way from bending low in a winepress to climbing the hill of Moreh. The Angel of the Lord delivers his marching orders via rhetorical question, “Have I not sent you?” v. 14 As my wise friend often says, not everything is an opportunity, some things are assignments. When God looked at Gideon, His shining face illuminated a jewel of obedience embedded deep within Gideon’s heart. He wanted to obey but lived in the shadows of his own inadequacies. We tend to live in those same shadows rather then in the luminosity of His face. Lies are loud in the dark and can drown out His whisper.

“Have I not sent you? “

Gideon rallies the troops and they follow. They FOLLOW! You would think that alone would be enough to convince him that he was sent. But, fear. So Gideon flings a fleece. Asks God for a sign. Two signs to be exact. And God, seeing a man so unsure of himself but so sure of the One who sent him, answers just as specifically as Gideon asks.

One fleece. One day. Wet.

Same fleece. Next day. Dry.

Asked. Answered.

You see, fleece flinging does not anger our Father when our heart is to obey. He knows our vision is often blurred by our inadequacies. Gideon’s fear, wrapped in fleece, was surrendered at the feet of God.

1 Timothy reminds us, God has not given us a spirit of fear. Its easy to surrender what we refuse to own. And we should refuse anything that is not in our inheritance package. In the Kingdom,
Surrendered fear converts to victorious courage.

Gideon flung a fleece and Gods answers flung the fear. When God speaks, something is always created. Always. In this case, it was courage. The obedience of this sent one led the Israelites to freedom, and Gideon to his destiny. The Angel saw the judge, but Gideon’s prevailing obedience led him to the bench. “Have I not sent you, to experience freedom?” “Have I not sent you, to live in abundance?” “Have I not sent you, to bring My Kingdom to Earth for My Glory?” In the obedience of our sending, we always reach our destiny and He is always glorified.