Right attitude (3)

But the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go...

...Then the Lord said to Gideon, “By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place.- Judges 7:4-7

The Midianites oppressed the people of Israel and they could neither buy nor sell. They became impoverished and oppressed because they lived in sin and God decided to fold His hand to watch His beloved nation under the tyranny of enemies for a while. The enemies were many, Israelites had neither sword nor spear and so they were under oppression perpetually.

How do you fight an enemy that has a sophisticated weapon when you don't have ordinary spear? How do you win a battle without a shield to even protect yourself? But when God is ready to fight for you, the enemies will be sorry for themselves. It was at this time that God, out of His compassion, decided to raise Gideon for the deliverance of Israel. And Gideon assembled soldiers; 32,000 men without ammunition but God said the soldiers were too many. God instructed Gideon to tell all those who are fearful to go back home and 22,000 went back home. Two-third of Gideon's army went back out of fear! When it remained 10,000, God said they were even too many. Why? It is because God wants to take the glory. May God take glory in your life in Jesus name.

The first test God gave was the test of fear or boldness. If you know God is real in your life, you will not yield to fear. God asked the fearful to go home because fear is not of God (Deuteronomy 20:3).

The second test God did was the test of attitude. If you will amount to something in God, you have to pass the test of attitude. The soldiers had trekked a long distance for the battle and they suddenly saw relief (water). Majority of them dropped their instruments to enjoy the water. These men forgot their assignments and their focus was on the blessing. Only 300 men scooped water with their hands to enjoy water and also to be conscious of the assignment before them. God picked the 300 because they didn't lose their focus because of blessing. If God sees that a man is distracted by a blessing, continuous flow can automatically be terminated. Although God planned a higher level of wealth for him, his wrong attitude in the presence of little comfort cuts short the flow of divine abundance. May it not be so in your life in Jesus name.

You can't claim you know a man's real attitude until he has blessing. If he's blessed and still maintains his good character, then you can claim to know him. It is my prayer that you will pass the test of God. God has an assignment for you on earth and you need to let your focus be towards accomplishing the assignment.  Don't let the circumstance around you shift your focus, don't let God's blessing distract you. Live for a divine purpose and have a right attitude. May you have a positive approach towards life.