Faith life of Gideon

“And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,  Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”

Let us study the faith life of Gideon and get some faith lessons from him. I know some of you would never have considered him a subject in the study faith but if the Bible deemed it fit to mention him among the heroes of faith then he is one.

His walk of faith started with this;

“And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: 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.”

God spoke to him and called him a mighty man of valour. Here was a man that was hiding in a cave to thresh wheat so that he will not be seen by the enemy and God calls him a mighty man of valour. Now when God speaks to you, you can do either of two things, discountenance it or do something with it. 

Gideon did something with what he heard, even though it seemed God was speaking about someone else because he did not look like the image God spoke of. When God says something about you, whether you look like it in your present circumstance or not, it does not matter. He who sees the end from the beginning has spoken, you will do well to accept it and act like it, then you will see it to be so.

Secondly, we see Gideon display an understanding which God must know about him but which was not on the surface:

“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?”

This understanding, this belief Gideon had was actually a strength in God’s sight. What is faith, if it is not a confidence in God being with a man. Gideon believed that if God was with a people, they should experience Him in their lives. Hebrews 11:6 also defined faith thus: “…for he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” 

Gideon was a faith man because he believed this. You are not in faith if you disagree with Gideon. All Gideon did with the fleece was to affirm to himself that God was indeed with Him, for He was confident that if that be so, victory was assured.