True North: Hatchet Dayনমুনা

CHOOSE WISELY When your only tool is a hatchet, the whole world looks like a tree.  The good news is that to date, Jack hasn't chopped down anything he wasn't supposed to.  Our trees are trimmed much higher than they used to be, but he is using great judgment on when to swing his hatchet, and when to keep it holstered.  In fact, there are even times to keep it hidden. Early on, Jack and I had a conversation about which friends he shares his hatchet with and which friends he doesn't.  While it is something he wants to show off to every one, there are some, old and young, that wouldn't handle it safely.  We decided that we would rather keep both the hatchet and the people safe rather than share it with everybody.  That is a challenging decision for an 8 year-old to make, because when we have something wonderful that's promised to us, the whole world looks like an opportunity to show it off. In Judges 7, Gideon was preparing to fight the Midianite army of about 135,000 men (we find out later).  He had an army of 32,000 men ready to fight alongside him.  But the Lord told him there were too many men in his army to win.  So, Gideon was faced with the challenging decision to either obey God, and fight with a much smaller army, or keep all the fighting men of the Israelite army.  Gideon was forced to choose wisely about the opportunity in front of him. Gideon's army was narrowed from 32,000 to 10,000 by asking any soldiers who were afraid if they would leave.  Then, through a very specific selection process, Gideon chose only 300 men to represent Israel and take on the entire Midianite army. God might have promised you a new job, but that's not EVERY job you see, choose wisely.  He might have promised you a spouse, but that's not EVERY person you see, choose wisely.  God might have laid a promise on your heart that is so overwhelming you think there is no way you could ever achieve it, and even if you did, it would take everybody you could think of. Gideon and 300 men overtook the Midianites of 135,000, so you might not want to invite EVERY person you know into your promise.   We have to choose wisely on when and how we share our promise.