Working with the Word!
When the Angel of God approached Gideon in Judges 6, Gideon had two questions:
- “If the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?”
- “Where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of?”
God didn’t answer those questions. God just told Gideon to go do the appointed work.
Don’t paralyze yourself with questions, wonder, and worry.
Sometimes we spend a lot of time asking questions. We contemplate. We debate. We research. God’s plan for Christians is simple: teach, baptize, obey (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16, I Corinthians 1:21, Micah 6:8, Ephesians 2:10). Yes, all aspects of our life are involved, but we shouldn’t paralyze ourselves into inaction by our desire to know everything. Many a person has failed to commit to Christianity for fear of not knowing enough. Many a Christian has proclaimed they cannot share the gospel due to a lack of knowledge. Yet, God used those recently exposed to the gospel to spread the message throughout the world (Acts 8:4). A word from a single person with little knowledge can motivate a large body of people (John 4:1-42).
Gideon after being told to “Go”, asked for evidence the path before Him was from God. Miracles and signs no longer occur in our age. They did so previously to confirm the prophetic message of God (Mark 16:20). However, we now have the Word of God which makes us complete for His Work (2 Timothy 3:16, I Corinthians 13:8-12, Ephesians 4:8-16), provides what we need for life and Godliness (1 Peter 3:1-3), and was completely delivered for the salvation of our souls (Jude 3, James 1:21).
Once Gideon received evidence from God, he went on to the task commanded. Yet, he would again ask for signs. His faith had been strengthened, but further evidence from God strengthened it even more. Romans 10:17 says that man’s faith comes from hearing the Word of God. Why? Hebrews 11:1 answers this: “Faith is the foundation of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Evidence is a building block of faith originating in the Word! Today, our faith to do the work of God is strengthened by the evidence within the Word. 2 Timothy 2:15: “Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman who needed not be ashamed”. The Word ever goes with the work and is not to be separate from it (James 1:22ff).