Sign of the Fleece
36 Then Gideon said to God, “If You will deliver Israel [v]through me, as You have spoken, 37 behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will deliver Israel [w]through me, as You have spoken.” 38 And it was so. When he arose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece, he drained the dew from the fleece, a bowl full of water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not let Your anger burn against me that I may speak once more; please let me make a test once more with the fleece, let it now be dry only on the fleece, and let there be dew on all the ground.” 40 God did so that night; for it was dry only on the fleece, and dew was on all the ground.
This seems a bit late in the game for Gideon to be “testing” God. He’s already seen meat and bread consumed by fire, already tore down the Baal and Asherah, already summoned an army, and now He wants to see another sign.
But God doesn’t say, “what, are you crazy?” God answers Gideon’s request, even when he asks a second time. In our lives, I believe there is some wisdom here. In the things that are going to change the course of our lives, it’s important to be following God’s call, listening for His voice, and choosing His way.
It’s important to know if something is just what you made up, and think you want to do, or if it’s really what God has planned for you. While God might not make a fleece wet for you, there’s no harm in asking for confirmation. In fact, I think we could easily say there is more often harm when we don’t, and we run off “half-cocked.”
When you feel God calling you to something, take time to think and pray about it, and don’t be afraid to ask Him for confirmation in some way. But when He does call, don’t be afraid to move forward like Gideon did.