Daily EncouragementSample

The Lord knows where to find his servants, and he does so in the most unlikely circumstances and at times when his cause seems at a low ebb. The candidates who he selects are not always too promising from a human viewpoint. Not many would have considered this man Gideon, the least of his family in the weakest clan in Manasseh (Judg. 6:15) a likely choice. The strength of such servants lies in the authority of the one who commissions them: “The Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength you have . . . am I not sending you?’” (Judg. 6:14). They are basically apostles, and by definition an apostle is one set apart and sent forth by another. The Lord is very patient with those whom he calls, particularly when they pour out their hearts before him, not holding back their questionings, doubts and fears: “If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?” asked Gideon (Judg. 6:13). We may question his repeated request for signs, but we cannot doubt the grace of the God who dealt with him so patiently. All of which stresses the vital importance of asking “the Lord of the harvest . . . to send out workers into his harvest field” (Matt. 9:38).