Don’t you love it when someone responds to you personally?

After a hard day of travel, I hustled into a Chik-fil-A minutes before closing. I enjoyed my sandwich, then craved a chocolate milkshake. As employees mopped the dining room and stacked chairs, I approached the teenager at the counter. Gazing at brightly cleaned equipment I tentatively asked, You wouldn’t be able to still make me a chocolate shake, would you? The young man paused, I assumed to deliver bad news. Instead he gleefully replied, Make you a chocolate shake—why wouldn’t we make you a chocolate shake? Then he boomed to the back, Chocolate shake! The echo returned, Chocolate shake! Shake-machine-cleaning be damned. I felt like the king of Spain.

God knew Gideon needed a personal touch when setting out to liberate his people from their harsh overlords. So on top of an angel and a fleece, the Lord arranged a field trip on the eve of battle.

During the night God said to Gideon, If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.

Just the right touch, sending Gideon under cover and assigning a friend as company. Deeply moved by what he heard in the camp, Gideon bowed and worshipped. That very night the Lord provided a massive victory and destroyed the enemies of Israel.

Gideon’s tentative nature slowed him down. Without waiting on a request, the Lord provided a new fleece-like experience. Gideon did his part—it still took a ton of faith to tip-toe into a campground filled with men looking to kill him.

Like Gideon, I’m slow on the uptake in the arena of faith. It’s nice to know the Lord leads us, personalizing challenges to step into and building toward deeper tests beyond. I love the way the Lord brought Gideon along, knowing that God works the same with you and me today.

As Gideon gratefully reflected on Israel’s deliverance, I imagine he caught a faint whisper of My Pleasure somewhere among the clouds.

Judges 7 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022