It's my belief that too many people today focus on the New Testament to the exclusion of the Old Testament. Paul wrote in In Romans 15:4, Paul tells us, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”
While writing specifically about Old Testament examples, in I Corinthians 10:11, Paul says, “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” It’s obvious from these passages that the stories and examples from the Old Testament are there for our learning. It’s up to us to take advantage of these lessons given to us.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I taught a class on the book of Judges a couple of years ago. As a result of that study I gained a greater appreciation for Gideon. I believe there are several great lessons in that man's story that we can apply to our lives to make us better New Testament Christians. The following is what I wrote about how Gideon dealt with doubt and faith. I hope you find it useful even though it may be considered lengthy by internet standards.
There’s not a person among us that hasn’t been affected by doubt. It’s human nature. There are countless ways that we let doubt creep into our lives. We worry about jobs and income. We may worry about whether we’re good parents or good spouses. Some may worry about their health. Perhaps we worry about whether we’re doing all we can as Christians in our service to God.
Gideon was worried about the future. He was concerned in Judges 6:12-16 about his future and the future of his country. Of course Gideon wasn’t the only person in the Bible that was afflicted with doubt. One of the most striking examples that come to mind is when Peter tried to walk on the water with Jesus.
Even after he and the other disciples heard the voice of Jesus tell them to have courage, to “Be of good cheer” (Matthew 14:27). Peter doubted. He asked again if that really was Jesus out on the water. Even when he was reassured by Jesus a second time, Peter doubted. Jesus asks him pointedly in verse 31, “Why did you doubt?”
The Apostle Thomas has been come so synonymous with the word doubt that even to this day the phrase “Doubting Thomas” is a part of our vocabulary today. This was a man who spent the biggest part of three years following, listening, watching and learning from Christ. Yet he doubted when presented with the fact that Jesus rose from the dead.
The account of Jesus appearing to the disciples after his resurrection is also given to us in Luke 24. It would appear from verse 37 of that chapter that Thomas wasn’t the only one who doubted what he was seeing and hearing. In Matthews telling of this story in chapter 28 we are told candidly in verse 16, “Some doubted.”
Jesus knew it was human nature for us to have doubts. He warned against it and tried to reassure us not to have doubts when he spoke to his followers about the withered fig tree. He tells us of the power inside us that can be unleashed only when we remove doubt from our thinking. Those passages (Matthew 21:20-22 and Mark 11:20-24) also give us the antidote for doubt; growing in and increasing our faith.
So it was with Gideon. In the exchange he has with the Angel of the Lord in Judges 6:12-16, before Gideon speaks, he in already hearing positive words from the Angel. From verse 12, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor.” He’s given three positive thoughts from the Angel. He is told that God is with him. He is told that he is mighty and that he is a man of valor. Yet in the very next verse, Gideon doubts.
Think about how we today handle doubt. Gone unchecked without a positive thought or an uplifting word from another, doubt can eat away at a person until there is no confidence left. It’s easy to imagine that if Gideon still doubts after hearing these reassuring words from the Angel, that he certainly was filled with a greater degree of negativity before this conversation.
The Angel once again in verse 14 tries to reassure him. “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” Here again are two positive messages. Gideon is told that he is mighty. He is also told for the second time that God is with him. Yet in his follow up, his reply in the very next verse, Gideon still has reservations. Like Thomas in the example mentioned earlier, he needs physical reassurance. He must for his own mind, to assuage those doubts be shown. He even makes excuses for himself. He comes up with reasons why he believes he’s not capable of great things. He is weak. He comes from a small, weak family.
Doubts will rise up and cloud our thinking. There’s no way around that. It’s the response to doubt, fear and reservations that will determine the type of servant we will be though. There is nothing wrong with having doubts about ourselves or a particular set of circumstances. The problems arise when we allow those doubts to overcome our faith and our overall attitude.
Fear and doubt are not things God gives us or leaves us with. They are things that come about because we fail to recognize our own ability; ability given to us by God. They can be great motivators, great tools, and great launching pads for us to pick ourselves up from. They can motivate us to achieve greater things in life than we thought possible. Or, they can paralyze us. Fear and doubt can also be the starting point for a downward spiral that in the lives of some end up ruining lives and ultimately separating that person from God forever.
God understands our doubts. He understands we have doubts. If we let Him, He will use these times to convince us of His sufficiency and His love. He will use these times and these feelings to lead us to an increased faith. We must take the first step which involves stepping out of fleshly thinking and into the thinking of faith; into the realm of the Spirit.
The Apostle Paul found himself in such a condition when dealing with what he himself called his “thorn in the flesh”. Not once, not twice but three times he says he asked God to remove this trouble from his life. He recounts for us in II Corinthians 12:9 that Christ told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” The problem wasn’t taken away from Paul. The difference was that through his faith and because of his faith he knew he now had the means to deal with the problem.
Paul told the Corinthians in chapter 1 of the same book about his feelings as he encountered trouble in Asia. He says in verse 8, “We were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.” In the next verse though he admits that it wasn’t him who had the answers, it was God. Again, in that same letter he affirms that all sufficiency comes from God and not from man (3:5).
Then there are the words of Jesus who tells us in John 15:5, “He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing.” Is it easy to put away those negative feelings of doubting and despair? Of course not. That’s not the point. The point is whether we use those moments to our own advantage and to the glory of God. That’s what we see Gideon do.
Gideon wasn’t expected to be able to overcome his doubts and problems by himself and neither are we. Abiding in and with God he was able to “bear much fruit”. Why should we be any different? When confronted with doubt, if we don’t listen to those words of Christ we not only sink deeper in doubt but that leads to other negative problems. Left unchecked those doubts can spiral into deep fear, inactivity, and depression.
When confronting his fears and doubt, Gideon throws himself to the Lord and allows himself to be used as an instrument for God. He is ready to overcome, step up and move on to great things. In a way he uses this time to vent his frustrations, to reflect on what he feels are his weaknesses. But he’s not ready to live in that condition. He’s ready to use this opportunity to step away from that doubt, draw closer to God and go on to greatness. Can we be any different?
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