Do You Drink Like A Dog?

Judges 7:4-8(NKJV)

4But 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.” 

5So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink.” 

6And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water. 

7Then 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.” 

8So the people took provisions and their trumpets in their hands. And he sent away all the rest of Israel, every man to his tent, and retained those three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

Isn't it interesting that God tests us and chooses those who He wants to help Him do miraculous things.  Notice that not everyone gets that opportunity.  I'm sure that depending on the situation, God is looking for different things at different times but the thing that I want you to notice is that God doesn't call everybody to do everything.

Why do you think God does it that way?  Here is an explanation.

Judges 7:2-3(NKJV)

2And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 

3Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.

There it is in a nutshell.  If God called us to do only those things that we already feel equipped and able to do, where is the glory for God in that?  It's when He calls us to do the impossible and we step up and do it that God's glory can really shine through us.

A lot of the stuff we do for God on our own is pretty easy.  It's the things we gladly volunteer for.  But every now and then God calls us to do things.  Have you ever noticed that the things God calls us to do are usually harder then the things we volunteer for?  Not only are they harder but a lot of times they are things that we don't feel especially equipped for and so the calling is pretty uncomfortable and scary. 

That's part of God's plan.  When we accept God's call to do things that we don't feel especially equipped for it is just another concrete way of demonstrating our faith in God's promises that He will provide all we need to successfully do whatever it is that He has called us to do.

So the next time you feel God calling you to do something impossible, as I've said many times in the past, answer the call.  And now here is the next step.  When you answer the call and do what God called you to do, make sure that He gets all the glory!