So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.

Judges 6:27

I don’t know what you think about Gideon. However, God called him a mighty warrior (Judges 6:12). The man lived in the shadow of fear throughout his life. But the refreshing thing is that he obeyed God in every assignment, despite his fears.

God called Gideon to deliver Israel from the Midianites. He told him to destroy the altar of Baal in his hometown (25-26). Now, that was a tall order.

Gideon faced a dilemma. His father owned the Baal shrine. He also risked lynching, if he carried out the divine assignment in broad daylight (30). He needed a winning strategy. He took ten of his male servants and destroyed the Baal altar under cover of night. In its place, he built a new altar to the Lord and sacrificed a burnt offering to Him with his father’s bull (27).

Gideon was not a coward. He was an excellent strategist. Like Nicodemus, he used the cover of night to undertake his covert operation.

We, too, must have a strategy that risks everything for Christ. Regardless of conflicting interests, fear, or struggles with our egos, we must always stand for Jesus. What He wants must drive our passion. He demands obedience above everything.