As I read the story of Gideon and the three hundred brave men (Judges: 6,7), I think to myself, I want to be one of those brave men, but wonder. Do I qualify? Do I have what it takes? I hope I do, but I really don’t know. What I do know is that God is seeking brave men and women today and I want to be one of them. Would you like to be one of them too? If so continue reading.
What is interesting about God’s selection of the 300 brave ones is that He selects them with no specific qualifications. A group of 32, 000 showed up at greater personal risk, I mean think about it, they were good at hiding not fighting, they had no training, no real weapons or armor, and to top it off they would have to fight multiple nations and a multitude of enemies so large that they could not be counted. And in spite of it all when Gideon made the call 32,000 showed up to do battle. That’s some courageous men! Yet God tells Gideon they are to many I don’t want them to boast as do they saved themselves so if any of them are afraid tell them its ok they can go home. I would imagine that they were all afraid to some degree or other. So 22,000 of them went home, leaving only 10,000 who were willing to fight. God spoke to Gideon again and said, “There are still too many! Bring them down to the spring, and I will test them to determine who will go with you and who will not.” Then God procedes to choose only 300 of them, and He chooses those who appeared to be the least qualified.

So what do we need to do to qualify? The good news is that we have the end of the story, and we find out that God wanted them to do. He wanted them to do four things. And maybe if we’re willing to do the following four things we could also be part of Gods glorious army and take part in what our God wants to do in us and through us:

1. Focus

(Keep your eyes on me. Judges 7:17) We must be willing to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus the one who began this and will finish this, and not simply worry or complain about what’s happening around us. But rather focus in on what God wants to do in us and thru us.

2. Let Your Light Shine

(..broke their jars. They held the blazing torches in their left hands.. Judges 7:19) God is looking for men and women that would not simply say I’m a believer, but allow the light that God has deposited inside them to shine on the outside at all times and everywhere.

3. Praise

(..the horns in their right hands Judges 7:19) In the Bible the horns were to announce war and also to incite praise. In the Old Testament when Israel went to war the tribe of Judah went ahead in the battlefield praising God. We must be willing to praise God even before the battle has been won.

4. Take a Stand

(…and they all shouted, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” Judges 7:19). Someone once said: “If you don’t have something you’re willing to die for you really have nothing worth living for. You must be part of a group of people with the same vision. For us at Casa De Alabanza our vision is to lead others into a growing relationship with Jesus. God has not called lone rangers, we need each other and we must take a stand for God and each other, as we battle to lead others to Jesus.