Gideon is one of my most favorite characters and I’ve written about him several times. Gideon was not an obvious warrior. In fact, he pleaded with the Lord that he was the least in all his family! However, God knew that with His strength He could make even Gideon a strong leader!
This morning God taught me a fresh lesson that I’m looking forward to putting into practice starting today! Joshua has recently died and yet the children of Israel have already gotten away from serving the Lord their God. As a result of their sin, they were under attack by the Midianites. Under such distress they called out to God for help. God chose Gideon to be the leader of His rescue mission for them.
Right before the time came for Gideon to bring the tribes together to fight, we read that the “Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon.” It’s almost as if God was thinking… “I know what’s in store for you and I want to make sure you’ve got the right outfit on for this task. Therefore, I’m going to clothe you with what you need.”
Growing up, my mother used to lay out Dad’s clothes on Sunday morning. He always claimed he was colorblind and needed Mom’s help. Perhaps that was true, but I think over the years it was a win-win for both of them. He got his clothes laid out for him, and she made sure he wore what she wanted him to for Sunday morning. Some Sundays required a suit as it was his Sunday to serve Communion. Other Sundays he might just need a nice shirt and slacks. Either way my mom would lay out the clothes that would best fit his required service.
Today, I find myself doing the same thing for our daughter. Every day she wears the same uniform to school. It certainly makes getting ready on a busy school-morning nice and easy. I have no doubt that Jordan could do this herself, but she has come to love that I do this for her.
I thought about what my mom and I do for our loved ones, as I read about Gideon being clothed by the Lord. What an outfit that must be; to be clothed by the Lord! It made me wish that the Lord would say to me at the start of my day, “I know what’s in store for you today; therefore, I’ve laid out your clothes for you.” Then I realized… He does do that! That’s what happens in my prayer time!
It’s there that He provides me with an outfit of strength for those difficult moments He knows I’m going to face. It’s during that time, that He clothes me with His steadfast love, so that not only I feel loved and cared for, but I can in turn pass it on to those around me! He knows when I’m going to need an extra measure of patience for those frustrating situations that creep into my day and He covers me perfectly. That’s the beauty of God’s clothes – they fit perfectly!!! He knows my exact size!
Memory Verse:
“But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him.”
– Judges 6:34 (ESV)
Prayer Prompt:
“Lord, today as I do the laundry, hang up clothes, and lay clothes out for my family, help me to have a visual of you laying out Your clothes for me! Thanks You for totally covering me. I choose today to wear them proudly and serve You ardently. I thank You for picking out the perfect outfit for the task that You’ve given me today….”
Contributing Writer:
Penny Franklin
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