Fleeced

"Gideon said to God, 'If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised—look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said'" (Jdgs 6:36-37).

Gideon had faith but it was imperfect.  He wanted to believe God but needed something tangible, something he could feel, that would allow his less than perfect faith to scale the mountain of doubt prompted by his feelings of inadequacy.  As you read further in the text abover, you will find that he needed another fleecing to get him all the way over.

Gideon is not alone in this need to feel something.  For him it was a wet fleece one day and a dry one the next.  For others it is the desire to speak in tongues, hear a small still voice, see something taking place to provide assurance, a feeling somehow that God is definitely present and in charge.

I talked to an elderly woman in a nursing home yesterday who said, "My prayers are not working."  When I probed for more information and understanding, she went on to say, "I pray but nothing changes.  My prayers aren't being answered."  She couldn't see, hear, smell, taste or touch anything in response to her faith requests.  And so, she doubted.

I asked her if she ever told her children no, to which she replied, "Yes."  "Wasn't that an answer?" I asked.  I asked her if she ever gave her children something completely different that whay they asked and she replied, "Yes," again.  I asked her if her children always saw the benefit of her choices.  She replied, "No."  The question begged was, "Did you children always feel you were listening and answering their requests?"  The answer for her, for you and for me is "No!"

Just becasue we do not feel, hear or see God acting on our behalf, doesn't mean he isn't.  Just because we don't get what we ask for doesn't mean we aren't getting what we need.  Just becasue we aren't allowed to see or feel something tangible doesn't mean that something real isn't happening.  Ever been to a surprize party, received an unexpected gift or get a bonus you thought for sure wasn't coming?  Do things happen in our favor even when we don't see, hear or feel them happening?

God may choose to "fleece" you.  He may give you a tangible sign to bolster your faith.  But, he may not.  He may challenge you to believe even when the evidence is not apparent.  Faith is real, even when it needs a "fleecing," but mature faith that does not require a sighting ought to be our goal.  "Then Jesus told him, 'Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed'" (Jn 20:29).  Jus' Say'n.