The paediatrician’s diagnosis of a devastating neurological condition was bad enough. But it was just the first in a series of blows relating to our baby daughter’s disability. Yet every time I said, “I can’t do this”, God promised, “I will be with you.” And He was.
Gideon faced an impossible task. Yet again Midian’s annual plunder of Israel was imminent. God’s messenger had visited the young farmer and told him, “Go . . . and save Israel” (Judges 6:14). Gideon’s response was a clear: “I can’t do that!” Coming from a family with a poor reputation for bravery, he felt utterly incapable of doing what God was asking (v. 15).
Yet Gideon had a more serious problem—he believed that God had abandoned his people (v. 13). But he was about to learn that what we can’t do is exactly what God can do! “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites,” God said (v. 16). These faith-boosting words were exactly what Gideon needed. The road ahead for Israel’s farmer-general was frequently shaky, but he moved from “I can’t do that” to the triumphant battle cry to his men “Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands” (Judges 7:15).
Gideon learned that our inability is swallowed up by God’s ability when we choose to trust Him. That’s something to remember if today you feel like shouting, “But I can’t.”
By Catherine Campbell
REFLECT & PRAY
What is making you say “I can’t” today? How might Ephesians 3:20 encourage you in whatever troubles you?
Thank You, Heavenly Father, that nothing is impossible with You. I leave my “I can’t(s)” in Your care, and I trust You with the outcome.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The time of the Judges is an approximately 330-year period after Joshua’s death (Judges 2:8) to the beginning of Saul’s reign as king (1 Samuel 13:1). This was a chaotic time when a new generation of Israelites who didn’t know God turned from Him to worship idols (Judges 2:10–14). “Everyone did as they saw fit” (17:6; 21:25 ), so God raised various neighbouring nations to discipline them. When they repented, God raised judges—political and military leaders—to lead them. Gideon is the fifth of thirteen judges in this book (Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Gideon, Abimelek, Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, and Samson).
K. T. Sim
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