Increase The Peace

3 Sep

The Story of Gideon

Gideon was a judge and a mighty man of war in Israel. He was the youngest of a poor family from the tribe of Manasseh. God called him to deliver Israel from the oppression of the Midianites (Judges 6:14-16).

Gideon hid in a winepress to remove the wheat from its husks because he feared the Midianites.

Gideon tried to give excuses saying: “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

Gideon could not believe what he was hearing. That a man as weak as he was, timid, from the weakest family, and of the smallest tribe in Israel could be chosen as a deliverer of his nation.

So, Gideon asked for a sign to confirm that the Lord had indeed chosen him.

Even after all these encounters with God, Gideon was still timid and unsure of his calling. Gideon still needed assurance that God was going to save Israel through him.

Gideon asked for another sign. He asked that the Lord make a fleece wet overnight while the ground remained dry, the Lord did it.

How many times are we like Gideon?

Called for a purpose. God gives us a task. Gives us a message to deliver, to an individual, a church, a community or even nation. And we shy away doubting.

How many times do we receive a blessing?

Receiving and seeing the blessing but still doubting that it’s really happening?

How do you get to that place where we know and believe instead of doubting and shying away, where we can step out with the God given mission, or receive our blessing with thanksgiving and joy ?

We increase the peace!

It’s like when we turn the tv down so can see what we’re reading better. Or when we’re driving and a bit lost so we turn the music down so you can follow the satnav. It’s about turning down the noise, to focus, turning down your hearing, to focus on your sight!

God showed me this spiritually. Whenever we’re doubting, and finding excuses, or doubting and putting the fleece out, God showed me this is all noise, and this noise we can hear spiritually is distracting us or keeping us away from from what we should be seeing spiritually.

God showed me that, to overcome this, we need to make the peace louder than the noise. HOW?? Meaning we need to increase the peace, to reduce the noise.

To minimise that noise is to maximise that peace.

According to Google, peace is mentioned almost 430 times within the KJV of the Bible and in 400 scriptures….Doubt appears approximately 33! Therefore, peace is much louder than the noise.

The Bible is our sure way of increasing the peace and decreasing the noise. This is our source to turn down the noise and see the peace.

Phil 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.