‘…Shamgar…killed six hundred…Philistines with an ox goad…’ Judges 3:31 NKJV
Shamgar lived in dangerous times. Philistine gangs roamed the countryside, robbing people: ‘In the days of Shamgar…people avoided the main roads; and travellers stayed on…pathroads.’ (Judges 5:6 NLT) Shamgar’s only weapon was an ox goad, a long wooden staff with a steel tip used to prod oxen. But it wasn’t until he came under attack that he discovered its full potential. Understand this: God has given you an ‘ox goad’, something you can use to win in the situation you’re facing. If you seek Him, He’ll show you what it is. Like the boy with the five loaves and two fishes, God will take something small, bless it, then multiply it to bless others. The Bible says we are to ‘…be instant in season, out of season…’ (2 Timothy 4:2 KJV) The Greek words for ‘be instant’ could be translated ‘be prepared’. The Greek word for ‘season’ means ‘opportunity’. You need to be preparing yourself now, when it looks like nothing is happening, because your season will change and the opportunity to act will suddenly present itself. When it does, you must be ready. In life, opportunities are either coming towards you, or passing you by. In college, a professor told Dr Martin Luther King Jr that if he kept using such lofty words, he would never be a very effective public speaker. You have to wonder what that professor thought as he listened to Dr King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech, and watched him go on to champion civil rights. What’s your ox goad? Use it, and God will bless it!
SoulFood: 1 Sam 16-17, Luke 24:1-12, Ps 68:1-18, Pr 22:1-5
