BE A GIDEON!
BIBLE READING:
"And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me. Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again." Judges 6:11-18 (King James Version)
"And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me. Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again." Judges 6:11-18 (King James Version)
I had an experience this week that, for some reason, has really stuck with me. A young man came into Kelly Brothers needing some used tires. He has been a customer since before I even worked there. He’s in his early twenties, always polite and easy to talk to, humble and likable. He pulled up in a beat-up Toyota pickup, got out wearing overalls, work boots, a plaid shirt and a Farm Bureau Insurance cap. He walked up to the owner and said he needed some used tires so his truck would be safe to drive to Knoxville so that he could play his banjo with a good friend. Somebody noticed a load of wood on his pickup and asked if he had been cutting wood. He said he’d been in Wilkes helping an old man, a friend of his, cut a tree that was in the way on his property. My boss found him one used tire and mounted it on his truck. A co-worker was looking for another tire when I remembered where one was. He said he would take it, but needed a wheel to make a spare tire out of. So he and I went outside and walked around the building to find an old Toyota wheel to use as a spare.
As soon as we rounded the corner God spoke to me and said, “Invite him to church.” So I asked him if he went to church anywhere and he said that he didn’t, but he’d been thinking about visiting some churches lately. So I said, “Well, come down to Cornerstone, there are a lot of people your age who go there and you probably even know some of them.” He asked if I liked it at Cornerstone and I told him "I do."
We found a wheel and took it in to try it and it wouldn’t work. I took the wheel back outside and this time the young man didn’t go with me. (I think this was on purpose.) So, finally, we got him four good tires and a spare and he was ready to go on his way. As he backed his truck out I waited outside the garage door for him to pass by. When he got close enough for me to talk to him again I said, “Come on down to Cornerstone sometime, Josh.” He said he would. And then he was gone.
After he left I thought about why God had spoken so strongly to me when He told me to invite him to church. Then God showed me something. When Josh pulled up on front of the door we were all busy, but in thirty minutes four Kelly Brothers employees had worked on his truck. He had made a point of going around to everyone there and speaking to them, asking how they were doing. I already said this young man has a humble character and is always willing to help for the sake of helping. He has the type of personality that, without exception, everyone likes. God knows his potential. He is already willing to do more than most Christians – just because he wants to help his fellow man.
Imagine what God could do through Josh if he were to get saved and on fire for God, like Gideon in Judges 6:11. Because he was afraid of his enemies, Gideon was hiding behind a wine press to thresh his wheat – not very brave, to say the least. But the Angel of the Lord called Gideon a mighty man of valor. He didn’t see anything but Gideon’s potential. Gideon went on to destroy the altar of Baal and do miraculous things in defeating armies in the name of God. As you go through the day today, think about what God sees in people you come in contact with and the potential He sees in you! Be fearless for God!
Bro Kevin Winebarger
CMBC Facebook Devotion Writer
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