I would like to look at the life of Gideon as a lesson book for those who are exercised about serving the Lord. The things that the Lord worked in Gideon as He prepared him for service are the very same things that He would work in us as we serve Him. Every earnest and honest Christian naturally would want to cultivate these things in his life so that he would be more effective in his service for the Lord.
Since we don’t have time to go into the whole story, I’ll just lift out the salient points having to do with our subject of service.
The Condition That Prevailed in the Land
Turn to the 6th chapter of Judges, and beginning with verse 11, “And there came an Angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by [in] the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.” Gideon lived in a very difficult time in Israel’s history. Their enemy, the Midianites, had oppressed them for seven years. As a result, a two-fold condition existed among the people. Firstly, they were scattered in all different directions and were living in “dens” and “caves” in the mountains (Judges 6:2). Consequently, they were unable to enjoy their God-given inheritance. Secondly, the Midianites were systematically starving the children of Israel into a pitiful condition of malnutrition. They would come up and take their crops away from them, so that they didn’t have enough food to eat. As a result, the people were “greatly impoverished” (Judges 6:3-6).
The predicament the children of Israel were in is similar to our day. Our enemy, the devil, has succeeded in scattering Christians into many different divisions and sects. It is a sad condition indeed. Furthermore, the enemy of our souls has succeeded in a large measure to starve the Lord’s people of spiritual food. Christians generally are poorly fed. The result of this is that they are in a state of spiritual malnutrition.
1) He Stayed in His Inheritance and Gathered Food for His Personal Needs
In the face of this pitiful condition of the Lord’s people we are introduced to Gideon. He is called “a mighty man of valour” because he wouldn’t let the Midianites chase him out of his inheritance, as was the case with many of his brethren, and he wasn’t going to let them starve him out of the food that he and his family needed. That’s the first thing that I want to point out in Gideon—he stayed in his inheritance and found a secret place to gather food for his personal needs. He valued the “wheat” and threshed it out in secret so that he and his family could be fed. He was an overcomer; he overcame in the place where God had put him.
Wheat in Scripture speaks of Christ. He is “the grain of wheat” that fell to the ground and died (John 12:24). Gathering wheat is a type of getting something of Christ from the Word of God that would feed our souls. It is of utmost importance that each one of us would be found doing this daily. The Lord said, “My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me” (John 6:55-57). The Lord, of course, was speaking figuratively when He said that. His “flesh” would represent the truth concerning His Person, and His “blood” would speak of the results of His work on the cross. Simply put, we are to assimilate the truth concerning the Person and the work of Christ.
As I say, Gideon had a secret place where he was doing this. It speaks of having a private time each day—a “quiet time” if you want to call it that—where we get alone with the Lord to get a little spiritual food for our souls. This is absolutely essential for anyone who wants to serve the Lord. How can we expect to be of use to Him in His service if we are not found each day getting food for our souls from the Word?
Now may I ask, “Are you feeding on Christ? Do you have a quiet time each day when you’re alone with the Lord to read His Word and commune with Him?” Threshing, you know, takes time and energy. If you’re going to get something out of the Word for your soul, it will take a little diligence—but you’ll find that it is worth it. The Christian who neglects his Bible cannot expect to be used of the Lord in any appreciable way. He won’t be much of a help to anyone. And, as you read the Scriptures, don’t neglect getting into some good written ministry that will help you understand the Word. God has given gifts to the Church for that purpose, and they can be a help to you. But remember, while reading ministry is profitable, there’s no substitute for communion with the Lord.
Notice, it was when Gideon was alone threshing wheat that the Lord manifested Himself to him. And when we are alone having our “quiet time,” the Lord desires to come to us and manifest Himself. It is a promise that He Himself has made. He said, “He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him” (John 14:21). Now, He’s not going to manifest Himself bodily as He did with Gideon, but He’ll make Himself precious to us in a special way that will be known only by those who take time to get into the Word.
The Angel of the Lord found this future deliverer of God’s people in an insignificant place in the land—in “Ophrah.” Nothing noteworthy had ever come out of that region before, yet the Lord found His man there. This shows that the Lord knows exactly where every potentially useful person is among His people. You’re not lost in the crowd with God. You don’t have to make a lot of noise to get noticed by Him. If you just go on with the Lord, learning the truth, and walking in it, He’ll see it, and will call you in His good time to a work that He has for you.
I remember a brother telling me of a conversation that he had with Mr. Hayhoe that was very encouraging to him. I asked him what he said. Mr. Hayhoe said to him, “Brother, go on quietly with the Lord. Make sure that you are getting a daily intake of Christ in the Word. Learn the truth and walk in it; the Lord will see it, He knows where you are, and will use you in His service in His good time.” That was good advice. The tendency sometimes among younger brothers who are making progress in the truth is to want to take part publicly in larger meetings (conferences, tea meetings, etc.) to let everyone know that they’re growing. But you don’t have to do that. Go on with the Lord with a quiet confidence, knowing that He is watching, and that He’ll use you in His good time, as He sees fit. There is something beautiful about one who goes on quietly, not trying to make a big splash of attention among his brethren.
That’s exactly what you have here in Gideon. He was quietly gathering food, refusing to concede his portion of the inheritance to the enemy; and the Lord saw it, and called him to a needed work. Notice that Gideon is seen first using the sickle before he’s seen using the sword! It should be the same with us. The sickle points to the private intake of food from the Word of God; whereas the sword would speak of the public deliverance of the Lord’s people. It’s really quite simple; if we’re going to be a help in the Lord’s service, we must first be feeding on Christ personally. Don’t neglect your quiet time each day with the Lord.
2) He Was Genuinely Concerned For God’s People
Let’s read verses 13-14, “And Gideon said unto Him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where be all His miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? But now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?” We see here that Gideon was deeply exercised about the condition of things amongst God’s people. He saw them in a desperate condition and wondered why the Lord hadn’t come in to help. He was concerned for them with a genuine care. This is an important and necessary thing. The servant of the Lord must have a genuine care for the people of God.
Gideon felt what the Lord’s people were going through, and he had a lot of questions. Maybe you’ve got some questions as to why things are the way they are. He mentions how their fathers spoke of the manifestations of the Lord’s power in days gone by, but it wasn’t being seen in his day. Perhaps you’ve heard about the early days of brethren when there were many gifts in teaching, and there was power in gospel preaching, etc., and wonder why we don’t see it today. Maybe you’re saying, “Why are things so weak among us?” These are good and honest questions.
Note, Gideon said, “Why then is all this befallen us?” He didn’t say, “Why has all this befallen them?” He doesn’t accuse his brethren of the weakness that existed, but takes his part in it, saying, “us” (6 times in one verse). He included himself, and this is important. We need to own our part in the failure of God’s people, if we are ever going to be a help to them. See Daniel 9, Ezra 9, Nehemiah 9.
Then it says, “And the Lord looked upon him.” Gideon had expressed his concern for the people of God, and the Lord looked on that, and appreciated it. You may have an exercise about the Lord’s people that maybe nobody else knows about it, but I assure you, He does, and He appreciates your concern. Let me ask, “Do you love the Lord’s people?” If you have no real love or concern for the people of God, you won’t be very effective in reaching out and helping them. The Apostle Paul could say, “Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches” (2 Cor. 11:28). That’s the kind of care we need to have.
The Lord said to Gideon, “Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites.” He encouraged him to go and be a help to His people. But what was “this” that the Lord was referring to? I believe that it was Gideon’s care and concern for the people of God. If he would go out to help them with that genuine love and care that he had for them, he would be effective. H. E. Hayhoe used to say, “What comes from the heart will go to the heart.” We must carry out our service for the Lord from our hearts, as Scripture says, “Doing the will of God from the heart” (Eph. 6:6).
3) He Had a Sense of His Own Nothingness
Now let’s read verse 15-16; “And he said unto Him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house. And the LORD said unto him, “Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.” Here we have a third thing that marked Gideon—he had a sense of his own nothingness. This is essential in serving the Lord. The person who carries himself amongst God’s people with self-importance will not be effective in his ministry. People are going to see pride—an outward pretence perhaps, and it will hinder our efforts to reach them. The thing about pride is that we don’t see it in ourselves. Others may see it a mile away, but our hearts are deceptive. The Lord said, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9) Humility is more than just a word; it’s a lifestyle. One of our hymns says, “Low thoughts of self befitting, proclaimers of Thy praise” (L. F. #231).
If we are going to be used of the Lord, we will have to be stripped of our self-importance. The Lord will not identify Himself in power with one who has a high opinion of himself. The Bible says, “God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). The Lord is our great example; He was the only One Who had a right to exalt Himself, and Scripture says, “He humbled Himself!” (Phil. 2:8) J. N. Darby said, “People want to feel strong in the service of the Lord, but what we need to feel is that we are weak, because then His power will rest upon us” (2 Cor. 12:9). Gideon felt his weakness and the Lord could use a man like that.Gideon said, “Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel?” He looked at himself and knew that he didn’t have the resources to save Israel from their enemies. He as much as said, “Lord, I don’t have anything to save them with; what could I do?” You might be saying that too. Perhaps you look at yourself and think, “I don’t have any great gift to be a help in serving the Lord. I don’t have much knowledge of the Word of God; what could I do?” The Lord told him that it was not the “wherewith” of Gideon that was going to save Israel; it was the “with Whom” that was going to save them! The Lord promised to be with him, and that would be enough to deliver the people. This is important to understand. It is not our ability, nor is it the need that sends us to the work; it’s the Lord’s call and the Lord being with the servant that makes his service effective. Dear brother or sister, it’s not about your ABILITY; it’s about your AVAILABILITY. Are you willing to let the Lord use you in His service? That’s the question.
4) He Wanted to Offer a Sacrifice Before Any Steps in Service Were Taken
Now let’s read verses 18-19, “Depart not hence, I pray Thee, until I come unto Thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before Thee. And He said, I will tarry until thou come again. And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto Him under the oak, and presented it.” We see here that Gideon understood that worship is more important than service, and he wanted to be a worshipper before any steps were taken in service. He understood that all service must spring out of worship, and therefore, he wanted to present something to the Lord before doing something for the Lord. That’s an important order. In whatever desire we may have to serve the Lord and fill a place of usefulness in the testimony of the Lord, let us never think that that is more important than giving what is due to Him in worship. The greatest thing we can do in appreciation for what the Lord has done for us is to give Him our heartfelt thanksgiving and praise. But it shouldn’t stop there; there should be an overflow that will come out in service for Him. The Psalmist could say, “What shall I render unto the LORD for all His benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the Name of the LORD” (Psa. 116:12-13).
It’s significant that the highest commendation of the mighty men in David’s army was given to the three that gave something to David that refreshed his heart. The others did great things for him, but they did not attain unto the first three (2 Sam. 23:13-17, 19, 23). This teaches us that the Lord values worship more than service. We need to keep our service in its proper perspective. Other the other hand, some might take it that we shouldn’t concern ourselves with service, because worship is more important—but that is a mistake. If we are truly worshipping Him, there will be an overflow into service.
5) He Accepted Correction
Verses 20 says, “And the Angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.” This is interesting; Gideon presented what he thought would be an appropriate offering to the Lord, but there was one thing that he brought that was not acceptable according to the directions given by Moses for the offerings. Gideon presented “the flesh” and “the unleavened cakes;” those things were acceptable. But he also presented “broth” and that wasn’t acceptable. We don’t read anywhere in the Word of God that an Israelite should bring an offering of broth to the Lord—it was something of his own invention. He did it, no doubt, with good intentions, but it wasn’t according to God’s order. So, the Lord said, “Pour out the broth.” And Gideon “did so.” Here we have another feature in Gideon that should be found in every servant of the Lord—he could accept correction. How important that is!
Accepting correction on the touchy topic of how to worship is most remarkable. We all have our opinions—especially on that subject—and we don’t appreciate being told us we’re wrong. But we are never going to do everything perfectly; if we make a mistake, we need to be humble enough to accept adjustment on it. We don’t want to be like Nabal. He was “such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him” (1 Sam. 25:17). He was unapproachable.
Admitting we are wrong is something that most of us have a problem doing. Oh, dear brother and sister, you’ll spoil your service for the Lord if you can’t say you’re wrong. Ruth received correction from her mother in law (Compare Ruth 2:8 with Ruth 2:21-23). She showed a beautiful spirit in the matter. Proverbs 25:12 says, “As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.” I promise you; you will be tested on this. And it might come from someone who you think has no right to correct you, and it will manifest your spirit. If we truly have low thoughts of ourselves, it will be easy to receive correction, but if we are marked by the self-importance that we were talking about, we’re going to have a difficulty with this. It will be manifest to all around, and it will hurt your service. Therefore, you want to be open to receive correction.
Now let’s read on in verses 21-23; “Then the Angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in His hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the Angel of the LORD departed out of his sight. And when Gideon perceived that He was an Angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! For because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face. And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.” Note: The Angel touched “the flesh and the unleavened cakes” with the end of his staff, but not the broth. Again, this shows that it was not accepted. This, too, is important in service. The servant must have an overwhelming sense that the Lord is sending him to a work. He must have peace about it. But the thing to see here is that the Lord granted Gideon this sense of “peace” while he was worshipping. He didn’t get it by looking at himself or looking at the enemy.
The Lord said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into His harvest” (Matt. 9:37-38). The word for “send” here in the original language is much stronger than the normal word for send. The same word is translated “thrust” elsewhere (Luke 5:3). This shows that the servant should have a definite sense that the Lord is not just sending him but thrusting him into a work. If it is not there, it may be just the will of the servant desiring to do a work for the Lord, and that is not enough.
This is something that is hard to qualify, because the Lord is not likely to come to us in a personal interview (like in the case of Gideon) and spell out exactly what He would have us to do for Him. It takes faith and a profound sense that the Lord is sending us to a particular work. It may be that we won’t be able to point to any tangible thing, but we just have an over-whelming sense of peace about what the Lord is calling us to do. The servant should know that the Lord is calling him. Similarly, the Lord, as the great Servant of God, before He went forth in service, saw the heavens opened and a voice from heaven, saying, “Thou art My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11). He had that confirmation that the service He was stepping out to do for His Father met His Father’s approval. This same sense of peace was given to Gideon, though he had some difficulty receiving it at first.
This is important because there will come a time when you will meet opposition in the path, and you might be inclined to say, “I wonder if the Lord really has sent me in the first place?” But if there is this sense of peace about it, you’ll be able to withstand the criticisms and crossfire that surely will come in service. Gideon had a secret sense of the Lord’s approval that would carry him in the hard times. It’s true that Gideon still had a lot of doubts and needed the Lord to encourage him again and again, but that was a weakness with Gideon—one that I personally can identify with. But it is not to Gideon’s commendation that the Lord had to confirm and re-confirm it to him. In fact, I believe that it was seven times that the Lord reaffirmed Gideon’s call.
Judges 6:12-14.
Judges 6:15-16.
Judges 6:17-24.
Judges 6:36-38
Judges 6:39-40.
Judges 7:4-7.
Judges 7:9-15.
Gideon built an altar unto the Lord and called it “Jehovah-shalom” which means, “The Lord sends peace” (vs. 24). That’s exactly what the Lord gave Gideon. I say it again, the servant must have this sense of peace before he does anything in service for the Lord.
6) He Had Courage to Take a Stand Against Something That Wasn’t Right Among His Brethren
Now let’s read verses 25-27, “And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father’s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it: and build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down. Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father’s household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.” Gideon is ready to go, but before the Lord sent him out to the battlefield, there was something that He wanted him to do. The Lord wanted him to take a stand against the idolatry in his own father’s house, and Gideon did it. We see here another beautiful quality in Gideon—he had courage to take a stand against something that wasn’t right.
Now you might say, “I don’t see much courage in Gideon here; he had to do it by night because he was scared.” Yes, that’s true, but he did do it. And where was it? In his own father’s house—perhaps the most difficult place to make a stand, because the tendency of our hearts is to excuse family, rather than to speak out against them. But he did it anyway. If a man can rise above family claims and bias, he truly is ready to be a servant of the Lord (Luke 9:59-62).
We are living in days in the Church’s history when there is much that is not according to the Word of God. And there might be something that we know is not right among our brethren. If this is the case, we need to seek grace from the Lord to point it out that it might be corrected. I realize that this is not easy—especially if you’re a timid person like me. The Psalmist said, “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD” (Psa. 27:14). “Wait” in the Old Testament, carries the thought of trust.
Now I don’t mean that you should go around making a nuisance of yourself among your brethren, crying against every little thing that you think is not quite right. Your service for the Lord should be primarily positive. You want to bring Christ before your brethren as much as possible. Notice, Gideon was not to just tear down what wasn’t right; he was to bring in something positive that was right. After tearing down the idol, the Lord said to him, “Build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock” (vs. 26). You know, it’s relatively easy to point out failure among your brethren, but can we give them something that would be of Christ to build them up? The “second bullock” speaks of Christ, “the second Man,” the “Lord from heaven” (1 Cor. 15:47). When the men of the city went out the next morning, they saw that which speaks of Christ! Oh, that’s what I desire in my ministry—to set Christ before you. If our ministry hasn’t got Christ in it, it will be dry and unfruitful.
He Didn’t Defend Himself When He Was Attacked and Criticized
Now in verses 28-30: “And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing. Then the men of the city said unto Joash; Bring out thy son, that he may die because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it. And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? Will ye save him? He that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.”
We see here that Gideon’s stand for the Lord was completely misunderstood by his brethren. They wanted to kill him because he had pulled down their idol. This often happens when a person takes a faithful stand on some issue—those whose consciences have been smitten by it will rise up in indignation against him. You might have an exercise to help the people of God, and do what is right, but your brethren might misunderstand it. However, we need to understand that serving the Lord faithfully will not likely make us popular. Look at the prophets of old; the people often rejected them.
This must have been disheartening to Gideon. He tried to do something for the Lord, and his brethren interpreted it that he was a rebel! But again, he did the right thing; he didn’t meet their aggression with aggression. This is another beautiful feature that marked Gideon—he didn’t defend himself when he was attacked and criticized. He wisely left it with the Lord. The lesson here is that when you are misunderstood, criticized, and accused of things wrongly, don’t defend yourself—leave it with the Lord.
But lo and behold, Gideon’s father (“Joash”) stood up for him! His father, of all people! He was the one who was the promoter of the idolatry, having it right in his own house. But Gideon’s faithfulness wins his father. Isn’t that beautiful! His father could see that he really did have the Lord’s glory before him, and that he truly wanted to please the Lord—and he took a stand with Gideon.
Gideon’s Sphere of Service Broadens
Then in verse 33, we find that their enemies (“the Midianites the Amalekites and the children of the east”) muster their armies for another raid on Israel. “But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him” (vs. 34). The Lord allows the enemy to lift up its head at this time, and the attention of the men of the city is turned away from trying to kill Gideon. In their need for a deliverer, you find that they respond to Gideon’s trumpet call, and “Abiezer was gathered after him!” These were Gideon’s local brethren—the very ones who misunderstood him! They now rise up to support him! This reminds me of an incident H. E. Hayhoe told concerning his own ministry. He said that when he was young and was trying to serve the Lord, he overheard a couple of his brethren in the cloak room speaking of him in a negative way—they saw him as a young upstart know-it-all. He went to some of his older brethren and asked them what he ought to do to defuse the dislike those brothers had of him; and they wisely said, “Go on with the Lord, and they’ll change their mind.” And he said that that’s exactly what happened. He won them, not by confronting them, but by “patient continuation in well doing.”
Gideon takes courage in this and sends messengers out to his tribe (“Manasseh”) and to three neighbouring tribes—“Asher,” “Zebulun,” and “Naphtali,” to call them to come up and meet him. And they too, were willing to support him in his effort to deliver Israel. As we fill the place of service the Lord has given us to do, it will broaden to a larger sphere, and brethren from further afield will recognize it in time. This is the normal order of things.
Two Lessons From a Fleece of Wool
In verses 36-40, apparently Gideon had second thoughts—he had some doubt about whether the Lord would really use him to save His people from the Midianites. So, he put out “a fleece of wool” and asked the Lord to perform a miracle that would be a sign for him that He was truly going to help him. This was a weakness in Gideon. His faith was weak, but the Lord in patience and grace goes along with his request. How marvellous that the Lord has patience with our lack of trust in Him! What a great God we have!
Behind this exercise with the fleece are two valuable lessons the servant of the Lord must learn. First of all, Gideon asks that “dew” would be on the fleece, and not on the ground around it. Dew in Scripture speaks of God’s favour and blessing on His people in a manifested way (Psa. 133:3; Hos. 14:5; Gen. 27:28; Deut. 33:28). The lesson here is that the servant must seek, at all times, to be “full with the blessing of the LORD,” even though those around him may be dry (Deut. 33:23). To be thus, one must constantly be in the presence of the Lord, drinking in “the dew of heaven.” In the morning, Gideon “wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.” This speaks of the servant being willing to be wrung out in tireless service for the Lord so that His people might be refreshed. One might admire the place the servant has in service, but there is another side of it; and that is willingness to give and give again in tireless service. Serving the Lord is not always easy!
Then Gideon asks, “Let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.” And the Lord did exactly that the next night. This might speak of times when the servant is dry having nothing to give. He should still be happy to see the Lord’s people being refreshed and helped, even though it didn’t come through him. God may use some other means to refresh His people, and we should be happy, as long as they are helped. This is an important test for all servants; we must understand that the Lord doesn’t need to use us to bring blessing to His people. We shouldn’t be jealous or offended that He would use someone else to bring blessing to them.