All In: You Are One Decision Away From a Totally Different Life by Batterson Mark

Author:Batterson, Mark [Batterson, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780310333067
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2013-09-24T04:00:00+00:00

One Risk

One sentence.

After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad.

That is all the press Shamgar gets in Scripture, but this one byline tells me everything I need to know about him. One daring decision and one farm implement result in deliverance for the entire nation of Israel. This one risk turned fifteen minutes of fame into a model of courage that still inspires three millennia later later!

Israel was in a state of spiritual anarchy and political tyranny. They did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, and the punishment was enslavement to the Philistines, who ruled by fear and intimidation. But one man refused to be ruled by unrighteousness. He decided to disrupt the status quo, and he did it with an oxgoad.

Next to David, Shamgar has to rank as one of history’s most improbable heroes. And just like the shepherd-turned-king, this farmer-turned-warrior transformed a tool of his trade into a weapon of war. I don’t think David had any idea when he was tending sheep that God would use his skill with a slingshot to catapult him into the national limelight. And I don’t think Shamgar had a clue while he was driving oxen that God would turn his oxgoad into the instrument of Israel’s deliverance.

Shamgar had no army, no alliance, and no artillery. All he had was an oxgoad — a long stick used by a farmer to prod his animals. But he did not let what he could not do keep him from doing what he could. After all, God plus one equals a majority. And if God is for you, who can be against you? So Shamgar grabbed his oxgoad and charged the enemy armies. He looked as foolhardy as David charging Goliath with a slingshot. The enemy chuckled at his makeshift weaponry until he started wielding it. Then the look in his eyes struck fear in their hearts.

Courage doesn’t wait until situational factors turn in one’s favor. It doesn’t wait until a plan is perfectly formed. It doesn’t wait until the tide of popular opinion is turned. Courage only waits for one thing: a green light from God. And when God gives the go, it’s full steam ahead, no questions asked.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.