Friday, October 10, 2008

The Vulnerability In Victory

When are you most vulnerable to the enemy's attack? Most of us would say we're most vulnerable during seasons of weakness when we're physically tired, emotionally empty, stressed, etc. And though I believe we are certainly prone to attack during these moments of weakness, I'm finding that Satan likes to strike in the moments following a big victory as well. I've seen this in my own life, I've observed it in others, and today I was reminded this morning as I read the story of Gideon in the Bible.

Gideon is minding his own business, living in hiding from the evil Midianites and the Lord tells him that he is a mighty warrior and that He is going to use Gideon to bring Israel victory, to which Gideon responds with something like, "What?!" But God did just what He told Gideon He would do. With an measly army of just 300 men, Gideon, through the power of God's Spirit, destroyed an innumerable Midianate army (you can read the story in Judges 6-8). But here's what I saw today. In the wake of Gideon's a miraculous victory he made a decision that served to be a "snare" to he and his family. In other words, he made a decision he would soon regret.

What happened was this. The Israelite people were so enamored that Gideon had accomplished such a feat, they begged him to become their leader. Though he would turn down the opportunity to rule and would point to God as their leader (another victory...this time over the enemy of pride), he would ask them to share some of the war plunder. He asked each man to contribute one earring that had been taken from the enemy. They of course obliged and by the time it was all said and done, Gideon had over 40 pounds of gold that he then melted and made into a gold ephod (an ephod was a priestly garment). You might ask, "What in the world does that have to do with the price of beans?" Well, Judges 8:27 says, "All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping the ephod, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family." I think Gideon made a decision in the brief season following victory that would come back to haunt him.

I guess all I'm saying is be careful as you come down victory mountain. I think Satan understands it is then that we have dropped our guard. We've seen God do great things. We're close to the Lord. But we can't afford to live off yesterday's victory. We're in a fight and we can't drop our guard. Satan is looking for an opportune time to strike. Keep your guard up.

1 comment:

Justamom said...

I've learned several valuable lessons these past couple of months, one being that we never "win" the war this side of eternity. So we fight, every minute of everyday, only but glancing at each victory as the next battle begins.

Oh how we need reminders!!
Thanks Chad
Angelique