Imagine standing against the largest army you’ve ever faced—the emboldened Midianites—their entire bloodthirsty army eager to destroy you. As you look to your side, only 300 men stand in their way, led by Gideon. Yet all of the men around you, and your bold leader, were now certain God would give an incredible victory!
At our annual Summer Educational Program, we spend three weeks in training—we train to go back home and engage in a spiritual battle! The most important part of camp is what you do with it afterward.
God wants you to have a Gideon’s-army eagerness for the fight.
You could think, Well, I’m no Gideon. It was probably easy for him. Remember, Gideon started off as a coward!It was God who made him very courageous. God’s young people can be courageous warriors for Him.
God was training a group of young fighters just like you to go up against these Midianites. In Judges 7:2 it says, “And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.”
This group was too big for God to use. God wanted elite warriors! He had to dwindle down the soldiers in Gideon’s army to the tough fighters who really wanted to be there—and 22,000 men went home because they were afraid of the battle.
We are being trained into elite warriors too. Three weeks of S.E.P. are filled with instruction and activity—but they only benefit you if you want the fight. Out of millions of teens in the world, only a small group of young people are being trained at God’s camp.
Gerald Flurry wrote in The Former Prophets: “The first thing God did was have Gideon tell the army that anyone who was fearful and afraid could simply leave. An astounding 22,000 of the soldiers left! (verse 3). These men were about to go into battle — I’m sure they would have fought to protect Israel — but they weren’t what God was looking for. God said, Because they’re fearful and afraid, send them back. Are you fearful of spiritual warfare? God wants us to have courage in our battles!”
This was still too many for God. He had to test them again.
“So he brought down the people unto the water: and the Lord said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself,” (Judges 7:5). These men were so focused on the physical that they went down to the ground like dogs just for a few sips of water! They weren’t really eager to be there and get into the fray.
“[L]ikewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water,” (Judges 7:5-6). This second group was staying vigilant and keeping their mind on the battle. They were ready to fight at a moment’s notice!
How did God respond to this elite task force in their training? “And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place,” (Judges 7:7).
The army was pared down to just 300 who were eager to move forward. Many men, though they were going out to fight, weren’t eager to do battle. They had a case of the “slows,” as Abraham Lincoln said of his people and his generals during the Civil War. If you are not eager to fight, you will lose crucial battles! God is looking for people who are eager to do battle and go on the offensive. We should be His loyal marines!
Here are three takeaways to be warriors for God:
- God promises victory if we war for Him.
- Be eager to do battle.
- Give the credit to God.
In the lives of God’s young people, there will be battles—maybe some things you don’t see as a battle. Do you see time wasters like video games and other empty pursuits like the Midianites on the horizon? Will you just kneel down and drink from the water? Are you going to face that and see it for the battle it is—a battle for your mind and time? I haven’t seen one kid drop dead from video game withdrawal, not even a special tent for kids shaking. Do you see that as part of what you are facing? Are you ready to put the time in to educate yourself? God will give you the victory, but He needs us to be eager soldiers.