overcoming the odds
Believe. If I could sum up what I am about to share with you in one word, that would be it. Believe.
Recently, I had the pleasure of acting as the Teacher Coordinator with my church's Vacation Bible School, a week-long program for kids aged 4-12. While I was in charge of teaching them some very valuable lessons, I learned several myself as well. One of the most important ones is the message that I got to share with the kids on faith. In short, we discussed Thomas, the disciple of Jesus that doubted the resurrection unless he could actually see Jesus for himself, including the holes in His hands. Silly man...
Anyway, as I prayed and prepared for this lesson on the importance of believing in God even though we cannot see Him, I felt that there was another important message about faith and believing. And as I take a final look at the life of Gideon for the lessons from Biblical leaders, I find that this idea fit very well. Once Gideon had his army dwindled down to a mere 300 men, and was preparing to go up against 120,000 Midianites, he still had his doubts. I think that most of can relate to Gideon and why he doubted. When we are up against overwhelming odds, it is difficult to see how you will overcome those odds.
In the book of Judges, God told Gideon to check things out. When he did, he overheard some Midianites talking about a dream about Gideon's success. THEN, finally Gideon believed that he could do what he was being asked to do. From this, there are three things that I see as keys to successfully overcoming the odds:
Recently, I had the pleasure of acting as the Teacher Coordinator with my church's Vacation Bible School, a week-long program for kids aged 4-12. While I was in charge of teaching them some very valuable lessons, I learned several myself as well. One of the most important ones is the message that I got to share with the kids on faith. In short, we discussed Thomas, the disciple of Jesus that doubted the resurrection unless he could actually see Jesus for himself, including the holes in His hands. Silly man...
Anyway, as I prayed and prepared for this lesson on the importance of believing in God even though we cannot see Him, I felt that there was another important message about faith and believing. And as I take a final look at the life of Gideon for the lessons from Biblical leaders, I find that this idea fit very well. Once Gideon had his army dwindled down to a mere 300 men, and was preparing to go up against 120,000 Midianites, he still had his doubts. I think that most of can relate to Gideon and why he doubted. When we are up against overwhelming odds, it is difficult to see how you will overcome those odds.In the book of Judges, God told Gideon to check things out. When he did, he overheard some Midianites talking about a dream about Gideon's success. THEN, finally Gideon believed that he could do what he was being asked to do. From this, there are three things that I see as keys to successfully overcoming the odds:
- Obedience - The entire account of Gideon hinges on his obedience to God's calling. He certainly tested it to make sure that it was God's will, but he never would have been in a situation to overcome the odds unless he was willing to simply do what he was told to do.
. - Faith in God - This is a trust thing. Gideon had to trust the integrity of God's character, and that He was going to do what He said He would do. Gideon certainly had to take a leap of faith here, but he trusted that once he did that God was going to take care of what he could not do on his own.
. - Faith in yourself - Often we underestimate what we are able to do. But God put everything in us that we need. This doesn't mean that we can accomplish everything that is in our will. But it does mean that we can do whatever is in His will. This means that if we are in tune with what God wants us to be doing, then there is nothing that we cannot overcome.
Make your workplace a house of prayer. I'm not talking about the big, overstated kind of prayer that will make other people feel uncomfortable. What I am talking about is making conversation with God throughout your day a BIG priority. The more in tune you are with Him, the more likely you are to overcome the obstacles that come your way.
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