FAINT, YET PURSUING
“And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them.” Judges 8:4
Gideon led his three hundred men against the vast army of the Midianites. The Israelites were divided into three groups of one hundred and equipped with trumpets, lamps, and pitchers. At Gideon’s signal, around midnight, the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, exposing the light of the lamps. They were holding the lamps in one hand and the trumpets in the other hand, and continued blowing the trumpets. The enemy fled and the Israelites pursued them.
In our Scripture, we see that Gideon and the three hundred crossed over the Jordan River, “faint, yet pursuing them.” They were understandably weary and faint from being up through the night, continually blowing their trumpets and pursuing their enemy. Even though they were exhausted, Gideon’s army did not leave off the pursuit. They were determined to continue until the victory was complete. We know that fatigue can come to even the most dedicated of Christians, causing them to become weary in the battle for right and truth.
Sometimes we get tired of having people disappoint us or ignore our warnings. If we are not careful, we can get weary of helping people who do not seem to want to take our counsel seriously. You may feel from time to time that you are expected to do your job and also the job of others. Perhaps you have faithfully labored with little recognition or reward. It is disappointing to invest your life in others, only to see some of them go back into the world. What are we to do when we are tired in the fight? Obviously, we all need our rest and should not overextend ourselves. However, the lesson we learn from Gideon is clear. We need to continue the fight. They were “faint, yet pursuing them.”
Our job will not be complete until our Lord takes us home or comes for us. There is much work to be done. We cannot allow discouragement or disappointment to defeat us. Like the apostle Paul, we are determined to finish our course. Jesus finished the work that He was to do while He was here. We must keep our eyes on the Lord and our focus on what He would have us to do. Many people have given up serving the Savior when they became weary in well doing. There is no time to quit. By grace, we must persist in our pursuit of His will and work.