Do the next thing.

I’ve been reading the story of Gideon this week and, I have to say, I really like the guy.

When first meet Gideon in Judges 6, we find him hiding out, in a wine press, threshing wheat. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he is approached by the angel of the Lord.

{Now, I obviously like the fact that he chose a winepress as a hiding place from the Midianites – well done, Gideon. You see, threshing wheat would normally be done in a large area, often on a hill, where the wind could blow away the useless outer shell of the wheat, called the chaff. Chaff blowing in the wind would have been a beacon leading right to Gideon for the bands of Midianite raiders who would steal crops, thus leaving him no choice but to hide in a pit hidden from view}.

The messenger says to Gideon, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!”

Now, based on Gideon’s response, and his current circumstance, we can conclude that he sure doesn’t feel like the Lord is with him. He is living in a time of calamity in Israel, long after the Red Sea miracle with Moses and the rest on every side season under the leadership of Joshua. Gideon is living in a time of idol worship and of turning away from the one true God.

Earlier in the book of Judges, we read God’s proclamation to Israel, “I brought you out of Egypt into this land that I swore to give your ancestors, and I said I would never break my covenant with you. For your part, you were not to make any covenants with the people living in this land; instead, you were to destroy their altars. Why, then, have you disobeyed my command? Since you have done this, I will no longer drive out the people living in your land. They will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a constant temptation to you.” {Judges 2:1-3, emphasis mine}

The Israelites had begun a series of cycles of sinning, worshiping idols, being punished, crying out for help, being rescued by a judge sent from God, obeying God for a little while, then falling back into idolatry.

Even in the midst of this destructive cycle, God never abandoned his people. Gideon’s life story is proof.

He was doing the work before him, threshing wheat for food, when God called him out of his ordinary, necessary work and identified him as a mighty hero. I’m fairly certain Gideon felt far from mighty or heroic in that moment, seeing as he was hiding out from his enemy in a pit, doing a mundane work.

Gideon’s response to God’s message that he will rescue Israel from the Midianites? He doubted his ability.

“But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!”

Oh, Gideon. I hear you, brother. How can God expect anything of me? I am just padding around my kitchen, stirring this bubbling over pot of soup, stuffing never-ending dirty dishes into the dishwasher – is it necessary to use 23 different cups in a single day, my little people? – sorting laundry, moving piles of papers out of sight and then forgetting about them and losing important documents or bills that need to be paid. I’m unorganized, a terrible housekeeper, a mediocre cook, pretty lazy and selfish and I’m always afraid. You know how I worry about everything, Lord. My faith is too small, I think it’s sometimes even smaller than a mustard seed.

I can’t possibly do this massive job you’ve set before me.

I can’t possibly be the one to shepherd the hearts of these little souls under my roof. I am massively unqualified, untrained and ill-equipped. Isn’t there a book I can read to them or a bible teacher I can send them to? Maybe a summer camp? What about a weekly service project? Maybe that will instill in them a fierce love for you, Jesus. Maybe then, someone else can tell them about you and how faithful you are. Maybe someone else can point them to you and show them how desperately you love them. What do you say, Lord? You know me too well to actually think I could possibly handle this responsibility. They are too precious and wonderful and they have so much potential. I do not want to screw them up.

The Lord said to Gideon, “I will be with you.”

Even when Gideon doubts God and asks him for more encouragement and to prove himself, God doesn’t get angry with Gideon. He simply responds in love and answers Gideon’s requests.

He then gives Gideon very specific instructions for the next task before him. He doesn’t send him out immediately to conquer an army and save Israel, He simply asks him to destroy his father’s altar to Baal and his Asherah pole – symbols of idols in their land – and then build an altar to the Lord where he will sacrifice an offering to God. Seems simple, yet, it isn’t. Gideon knows he could be killed by his fellow townsmen for this act. God promises Gideon, “Do not be afraid. You will not die.”

Oh, Gideon. I hear you, friend. I am afraid so often. God is constantly telling me, “Jenny, do not be afraid. Do not fear, I am with you. Do not be afraid.” 

Eventually, Gideon does go on to defeat the Midianite army. He becomes Israel’s fifth judge and he lands himself a spot in the Hebrews 11 Hall of Faith. Despite all of his fear, all of his insecurity, and all of his doubts.

What strikes me most about the life of Gideon is that, despite his limitations and doubts, God worked through him because he was obedient to the task at hand. He didn’t worry about the next task or allow himself to be overwhelmed by the enormity of his assignment, he simply focused on the one thing before him and did that one thing well. Then, he trusted God to prepare him for what would come tomorrow.

I see this work itself out in my own life time and time again. Most recently, I can point to the one small task I had put off for months and months: booking our flights to South Africa.

I had booked hotel rooms, guest houses, rental cars. I had scheduled a game drive and printed driving directions. Yet, one month before we were scheduled to leave, I had still not booked our flights. If you had asked, I would have told you that I was waiting for more miles to come through so we could book with the reward points, as planned. Yet, deep down, I knew I was avoiding the one seemingly simple task before me: committing to the trip by booking our flights.

The idea of flying in a metal tube above an ocean to an unknown land with my entire family terrified me. I was excited, yes. I was expectant, yes. I was confident God was calling us to this adventure, yes. But, I was petrified. And, booking the flights was the one thing that would ensure we would actually do this. If we didn’t have plane tickets, the trip was just an idea, a fun concept. With plane tickets in hand, we really had to pack our things and board a plane over the sea. We had to be obedient.

The next thing usually is pretty small and simple.

There were no grand gestures or instagram-worthy photos when I sat my butt down in a chair and chose seat assignments. It was a rather ordinary moment. Yet, God knew my heart. He knew my fears and my doubts and He knew that moment was an act of obedient faith.

And, you guys. The blessings that followed were extravagant {long after we took the next step and the next and the next of planning and preparing and actually boarding the plane and flying over the ocean for 16 straight hours with four little people under the age of six}.

We met and held and loved on little ones who taught us new truths about our Abba Father. We marveled at the creativity of our God, the majestic beauty of this earth He created is almost too much to comprehend. We found healing and rest for our weary, overworked selves. We slowed down and found God. We witnessed beauty and pain and redemption’s work. We felt his overwhelming peace. We felt contentment and joy and saw God’s promises in plain sight.

We could have missed all of it. We could have ignored the gentle whisper calling us to adventure. We could have kept on with our busy days and overcommitted calendars. We could have avoided fear and worry and extra vaccines and the unknown. We could have stayed home, in our comfortable, beautiful, messy life. We could have avoided the risk and listened to the voiced fears of others for our safety. We could have missed it all.

Oh, I don’t want to miss the life God has for me. I want to do the one thing before me and trust God for what will come tomorrow. And, then, I want to do that thing and trust God for the next one. And again, and again, and again.