Last Sunday, we had a chance to hear from Pat Koh, who alongside Alvin served as pastors of LifeSpring for many fruitful years. One thing I always love about Pat’s preaching is the way she is able to bring together teaching from Scripture with her understanding of where LifeSpring is at in its journey as a church. The theme of Pat’s message was what it means for us to be “small but mighty in the Lord,” like Gideon in Judges 6-8.
Last week, I got to see an amazing example of “small but mighty” in action. About two decades ago, Pastor Alvin along with other leaders in the city felt a call to prayer in Toronto. Over the years, this took on many forms, from 24-hour worship, to prayer at City Hall, to online weekly prayer meetings and more. This past Friday, I got to witness some of the fruit of these prayers.
Representatives from different denominations, Christian organizations, and areas of work in the city joined together to celebrate Christian Heritage Month. We had worship and prayer right in the middle of city hall, alongside Mayor Chow, several city counsellors, and Chrisitan leaders. Most importantly, the Holy Spirit was so present in the midst of God’s people gathered together for worship. It’s amazing how small seeds of faithfulness and prayer can move mountains!
We can learn so much about what it means to be small but mighty in the Lord through the story of Gideon. A few points that Pat presented stood out to me as she explained this narrative from Judges.
The first lesson is that it’s the presence of God with us that brings victory, if we choose to be obedient to God. In Judges 6:14, the angel of the Lord says to Gideon,
“Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
God’s instruction was for Gideon to defeat the Midianites, but it was to be in God’s way. But Gideon responds in verse 15:
“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
Gideon was small, but he understood that it was through God’s hand that Israel would be delivered, not through his own.
The second lesson is that when God speaks a word over us, God will be the one to watch over it. Chapter 7 tells the story of how God tells Gideon to pare his army down to only 300 people, to face a Midianite army that numbered 135,000! Yet Gideon remained obedient. At God’s command, Gideon instructed his soldiers to blow trumpets and break jars around the Midianite army. This caused them to be confused and begin to turn on each other. The battle was won, but as a fulfillment of God’s word, not because of Gideon’s strength.
Lastly, the story reminds us of the importance of remaining in the vine. After God helps Gideon to win the battle, in verse 24 Gideon says,
“I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder.”
Then in verse 27,
“Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.”
God had done an amazing work among the Israelites by delivering them from the Midianites. But at the height of their success, they created an idol that became a snare to them. We celebrate every victory that God gives us, and every prayer that is answered. But we need to remember to remain in God and connected to the vine, even as our prayers are answered.
There is so much we can learn from the story of Gideon, and I’m grateful for these lessons. Let’s continue to trust that when God speaks a word over us, that God will bring it to fulfillment, if we remain attentive and obedient to God in every stage of our journey.