I know. I know. I know. BUT! Judges 6:33-40 Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them. Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised— look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” And that is what happened.Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water. Then Gideon said to God,“Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground bec overed with dew.” That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew. Greetings! BlogFam, it is just about time to fight and Gideon asks for yet another sign from the Lord! Some of you might be thinking, Come On Gideon! Has not the Lord proven to you enough already that the Lord has called you and the Lord is withyou and the Lord has chosen you for this task? And to that, Gideon might very well respond – I know. I know. I know. BUT… Gideon asked for yet another sign from the Lord. He needed additional assurance that he was doing exactly what the Lord had asked him to do. Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised— look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water. Isn’t this like so many of us when it comes to asking for yet another sign from the Lord? BlogFam, I know that I have asked for signs from the Lord and the Lord has indulged my request even when I knew that I already had the confirmation to move forward or to be still. I have never been asked to lead an army like Gideon but I have been instructed to do some things that were uncomfortable, unpopular, and unsupported by family and friends. I knew that the Lord had called me and that the Lord was with me and that the Lord had chosen me for a particular task BUT… BlogFam, we all know how to insert a BUT into any situation, especially when the Lord is calling for us to do something we have NEVER done before. We doubt ourselves. We deny our identity. We question our skill set. We are afraid to do it alone. We wonder what others will think of us. We come up with excuse after excuse after excuse for why we should NOT obey. Friends, I hope that you do realize that this really is an issue of faith and obedience. And when we are instructed bythe Lord and impressed in our spirit to say or to do something that stretchesour faith and tests our willingness to be obedient no matter the cost, there isno shortage of BUTS that can come from our own lips. Gideon was not unlike so many of us. I think, at this point, he had finally overcome the truth that he indeed had been called by God to be a warrior but I think that, perhaps, in these few verses he wanted to be EXTRA sure that this was indeed the battle that the Lord had chosen for him to fight. And sometimes, we ALL just need/want a little EXTRA assurance in the Holy Ghost that we are on the right track. So many of us are already clear that we are the sons and daughters of Zion and we appreciate being identified as such. We know that. We even believe that we are more than conquerors in Him and that we can do ALL things through Christ Jesus who gives us strength. BUT it is the specificity of the task we are to actually conquer and the details of the assignment for which we need the strength to accomplish that makes us second guess ourselves and doubt God. BlogFam,it is time for you to FIGHT! It is time for you to GO TO WAR! It is time for YOU to do whatever the Lord is calling for YOU to do! I know you need ONE last sign, just like Gideon needed in this passage. Actually, he asked for TWO more last signs and the Lord did as he asked. Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just ONE more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew. Friends, you more than likely have already received sign after sign after sign and you are still saying BUT and today I strongly encourage you to HAVE FAITH IN GOD! YES, it is YOU who the Lord our God has selected for such a time as this and you do NOT need one more sign! It is NOW time for you to OBEY and quit offering excuses and hindering the process and progress toward YOUR VICTORY! BlogFam, Iw ant to remind you that the fight is fixed. The Lord had already promised Gideon that he would WIN and the same is true for you so keep your BUTS to yourself and GO say or do whatever the Lord has asked you to say or do!!! It is YOUR time!!! And your BUTS must be overcome your FAITH in GOD to do in and through YOU exceeding abundantly above whatever you can ask or think! GOD LOVES YOU and I DO TOO!!! 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