Gideon and Timothy

Gideon and Timothy are two Biblical characters that are famous for expressing doubt in God, and requiring proof that it was Him that they were really dealing with.

Gideon required repeated proof. In Judges 6:17-19 Gideon asks God for a sign to prove that it is Him with whom he is conversing. Gideon prepares an offering; God's angel touches it with his staff; the offering is consumed by fire. A few verses later Gideon tests God twice more with the test of the fleece (vs 36-40). Gideon saw a physical manifestation of God's power when He consumed his offering. He saw another physical manifestation of His power when God left the floor of the threshing ground dry while the fleece was covered with dew, and the third proof was when the fleece was dry but the ground was wet.

Timothy's doubt was made manifest in the instance of Christ's appearance to His apostles after the Resurrection. (John 20:24-29). Christ had made prior appearances, but Timothy was not present for those appearances. He made the statement that until he could see the scars and touch the wound in his side he would not believe in Christ's resurrection. When Christ appeared in front of Thomas He challenged Thomas to see His scars and touch His side. Thomas finally believed--he would not accept the words of his friends as evidence of Christ's return; he had to experience it for himself.

I'd like to be able to claim with conviction that I wouldn't question God's word to me after Gideon's fire. The truth is, that if I am completely honest with myself, I catch myself doubting God nearly every day:

Every time I look at my bank balance and doubt that I'm going to be able to make it to payday...

Every time I have irrational fear for the well-being of my wife and kids...

Every time I pray for a great day at work and then go into work with trepidation...

Every time I see a news story that makes me wonder just for a moment, "Where was God?"...

At the same time, God has proven Himself to me time and time again. I've never seen the scars that he showed Thomas, or checked a fleece to see if it was wet or dry, but I've seen God in three healthy children, a wife that any man would be proud of, an upbringing in a family that provided me with a great foundation and a nice home (that I sometimes take for granted).

I am very glad that the Bible is not a book filled with stories of perfect people. The Bible uses real-world examples of people that possess the same character flaws that I possess. I am encouraged by the stories of people like Gideon and Thomas. It's fun to poke fun at these two guys for being made famous for their doubts, but the best part of their stories is the rest of the story. Gideon, who was at one time so scared of the Midianites that he threshed wheat in a winepress, led Israel to victory over the Midianites and was eventually said to have "the bearing of a prince" (Judges 8:18). Israel had forty years of peace during his life. Thomas was present at the Day of Pentecost and then went on to preach to the Parthians, Medes, Persians, Carmanians, Hyrcanians, Bactrians and Magians. He was eventually put to death by the Romans in Malta.

The stories of Gideon and Thomas are very encouraging to me. Both of them were real men, with real doubts, that went on to do great things for God. My prayer is that God use me, despite my imperfections, to do great things for His kingdom. Help me to overcome my doubts and fears to accomplish the tasks that You have set for me.