She Lived by the River…

Drink Up

Judges 7:4-7 … “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there…

5So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” 6Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.

7The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands…

I find it interesting that Gideon’s greatest warriors were not defined by prowess, or stamina, or their ability to throw a javelin or spear. They were not earmarked by their warrior like spirit. They were defined by how they drank from the river. They drank–up.

Gideon had already lost over 20,000 soldiers to a spirit of fear. They were filled with fear and were afraid. Being afraid and being “filled with fear” are not the same. Being afraid recognizes the danger while retaining the ability to act in the face of the thing that frightens you. Fear paralyzes and keeps us stuck in inaction.

We all encounter battles that frighten us. We overcome being afraid by acknowledging our source of strength, the river. The river will restore the soul. It rejuvenates our perspective. As we drink, we look on the horizon and see more clearly. To bow in fear with the river all around you is to fail to see the solutions that have already been provided.

All challenges have predetermined solutions waiting for us to find them. When we drink from the river with an eye towards the problem, we see beyond the challenge into the place where God has laid our answer. But, to discover the answer, we must face the problem.

How we drink from the river also defines the way we look at the landscape of our lives and see our opposition. How we drink from the river determines what we will bow down to. It is only when the crowd around us has been “thinned” can we really see the victory that lies beyond our opposition.

What are you afraid of?

Are there places in your life where you are filled with fear?

What are some possible solutions waiting for you on the other side of the thing that frightens you?