The expression “putting out a fleece” comes from the story of Gideon in the book of Judges in the Old Testament. Gideon was a farmer who became the fifth leader during the Period of Judges in Israel. By analyzing chronological limits, there’s considerable agreement among Bible scholars that this period occurred between 1200-1020 B.C., a time followed by the reign of Saul, Israel’s first king.

As we read the sixth chapter of Judges, we find Gideon committed to obtaining food for his family at a time when Israel was surrounded by hostile invaders who were making the growing, gathering, and even preparing of food almost impossible.

The Midianites were so oppressive that the Jews had to hide in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. Every time they planted crops, the Midianites and other foreign invaders would destroy them.

Gideon was resourceful. He turned a wine press into a sunken threshing floor, thus hiding while preparing wheat. It was not ideal, as it lacked the ventilation to blow the chaff away, but at least it was hidden from the enemies.

It was while Gideon was working on the threshing floor that God sent him a divine messenger with a challenge. The angel’s greeting took Gideon aback: “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior,” the angel said.

Gideon’s next words have undoubtedly come out of the mouth of many people during times of oppression, hardship or confusion:

“Pardon me, my lord, but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?” (v.3)

Gideon focused on the troubles his country was facing and on his limitations. He did not see himself as a “mighty warrior,” but God did. The angel proceeded to give him the task: he was to lead a charge against the mighty armies of Midian. The mission was much greater than Gideon’s abilities and resources; therefore fear and doubt crippled his faith.

Gideon focused on the troubles his country was facing and on his limitations. He did not see himself as a 'mighty warrior,' but God did. #MondayThoughts #Mondaydevotional
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As the narrative continues, we witness Gideon requesting a confirmation — he needed to ensure that it was indeed God who was calling him. God miraculously confirmed His presence. But that was not enough for Gideon.

He proceeded to ask for confirmation of his victory through two tests. In the first test, Gideon put a wool fleece on the ground and asked God to miraculously cause dew to only collect on the garment but not on the floor. The next morning, he found what he had requested. But that was still not enough. Gideon pleaded for another confirmation from God and tested Him again. In the second test, he asked for the fleece to be dry and the ground to be covered with dew. And so it was. After much back and forth, Gideon finally agreed to the task.

I have to be honest. I understand Gideon. There are times in life when the decision in front of us can be overwhelming. It may be a big financial decision or a significant life decision, such as the person we are to marry. As believers, we should make it a priority to seek God’s will before stepping forward into the unknown. The problem with the “putting out the fleece” approach is not that Gideon was asking God to reveal what he should do. God had already told him. Gideon was trying to get a guarantee that God would give him victory on his terms.

The method in itself is not the issue. The issue is the reason behind it — Gideon did not trust God. In His mercy, God gave him the answer anyway, but we must not take the outcome of this story as a blank statement on how God operates when it comes to leading us. God cannot be manipulated into giving us victory or providing the answer we seek.

Invariably, our hearts and minds have their agenda. We want what we want when we want it. We can flip the Bible until we find the answer we want. We can make it our fleece.

Invariably, our hearts and minds have their agenda. We want what we want when we want it. We can flip the Bible until we find the answer we want. We can make it our fleece. #MondayThoughts #Mondaydevotional
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That’s why the best approach when seeking God’s guidance is to spend time in his Word, not manipulating it to fit our desires, but quietly letting God speak through it. His answer translates into a peace that invades our soul when our inadequacies and limitations melt away before the presence of Almighty God. The apostle Paul called it the “peace that surpasses all understanding”  (Phil. 4:7) You can’t reason it or manipulate it. When you receive it, you feel indeed like a mighty warrior, able to withstand the fiercest battles and conquer the highest mountains.

You can’t reason the Peace that surpasses all understanding, nor manipulate it. When you receive it, you feel like a mighty warrior, able to withstand the fiercest battles and conquer the highest mountains.#MondayThoughts…
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This article was originally published in Patricia Holbrook’s column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Saturday, May 11, 2020. Read it on the newspaper website here: AJC.

The post Don’t Try to Manipulate God {The Atlanta Journal Constitution} appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.

“Lord, did I really hear from you? Or is it my mind, my heart, my flesh, legalism, or anything else shouting out, silencing the voice of Grace? Will you forgive my doubts? Will you speak and confirm your Word to me? Again? Please?”

That was the gist of my conversation with God one morning last week.

I had been wrestling about an issue, and honestly was not sure whether what I was hearing was God’s voice… or my flesh.

At this point in my faith walk, I thought it would be easy to discern.

But I must confess – it’s not. Not always, anyway.

There still are times in my faith walk when I tend to confuse God’s voice with legalistic decrees of men… or the desires of my heart with God’s direction.

This was one of those moments. And so, right there, in my War Room, unashamed, I begged God to confirm His Word. Again.

Bible open, eyes closed, I dared to say the words that would make some preachers cringe:

“Guide my hands to the answer, Lord.”

I waited for His prompting. Then moved my hands.

When I opened my Bible, my eyes rested on God’s mercy: A clear answer for my question.

Oh, good, patient Father…

Thank you.

66 books… 1,189 chapters… 31,102 verses…

The odds of my eyes resting on exactly what I needed to hear were slim to none. But God’s voice could not be clearer. He didn’t mind repeating it.

Grace spoke again.

I must say – this is not something I do often. I don’t usually use the Bible as the Urim and Thummim, casting it open to find an answer as if playing the Jewish dice. As a matter of fact, for many years, I found the practice almost… sacrilegious.

But Gideon’s story shows that, however method God guides us to use, the practice of asking for confirmation before moving is not sinful, if done when we honestly need to confirm the answer… or need the courage to press on when the task before us is scary.

There is no doubt Gideon’s heart was in the right place, otherwise God would not have chosen him to deliver Israel from the Midianites (Judges 6:12).

He was an unlikely judge and prophet, chosen from a household of Baal worshipers (Judges 6:25). He had seen confusion in Israel. In his own home. And so, he honestly doubted his calling, even after God had set a wet altar on fire, spoken through an angel, and repeatedly told the prophet that Midian would be delivered into his hands (Judges 6:11-27).

He doubted himself, not God.

He looked at his inadequacy, his long list of weaknesses, his family’s record of unfaithfulness to Jehovah, and wasn’t sure he had heard it right:

“O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.” (Judges 6:15)

Shaking with the weight of his shortfalls and fear, Gideon asked for the sign of the fleece.

“Make it wet. Now dry again. ”

“Please don’t be angry, but will you say it one more time, Lord?”

I don’t know about you, but I used to have an ugly tendency to roll my eyes at Gideon when I read this passage.

Seriously, man?

You heard God’s voice. You saw an angel. You witnessed Baal’s altar destroyed. And Yahweh Himself said “Do not be afraid – you shall not die!” (v.23)

And yet, you need a fleece to help you move forward?

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

It’s true. I kinda judged Gideon a time or two. Shame on me.

Until. I too. Was not sure. I heard Him right.

Until He called ME – broken, inadequate me – to go forth in His Name. To do something that did not make sense. Something I could not do on my own strength.

“Can you make it dry this time, Lord? Just to make sure I heard you right. Pretty please?”

It's not that we don't believe God. It's that we don't believe ourselves.
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I get so caught up in my own weaknesses and inadequacies that it makes it hard to believe that God would use a mess like me… Or I want something so bad that it makes it hard to believe that God would just freely give it to me.

It’s easier believing that I can’t. Or that He won’t.

But what I find most freeing about the story of Gideon is that God never flinched when Gideon asked for a sign that second time:

“God did so that night; for it was dry only on the fleece, and dew was on all the ground.” (v.40)

Relief, relief. It’s ok not to be sure.

Has God told you to do something scary, my friend?

Or give up someone or something that you don’t know you can live without?

Is He calling you to fight an impossible battle on your own? Are you scared to move forward? Not because you don’t believe God, but because you don’t believe in yourself?

Take a moment. Breathe. Ask for another sign. A sure, unmistakable sign that will give you the courage to move on.

A sign to help you drive a stake on the ground, point it to the enemy and say: “I know that I know that I know – God spoke and it shall be done.”

It’s all right. God will not frown at you.

If you need the fleece to be dry on the wet ground – just one more sign of confirmation – His merciful hand will give it to you.

And when He does, move forward, trusting that He will make you the Valiant Warrior that He has designed you to be.

It's alright to ask for another sign before moving on.
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