Setting Out Fleece to Make Decisions

Setting out Fleece Part 1

Putting out fleece or flipping a coin, either way, I’m taking action and not putting it off. Inaction and indecision is a decision and  doing nothing gets one nowhere in life. It’s been said that you “can’t steer a parked car”. This means that if you have a coach or mentor in life, (or being directed by Infinite Intelligence) as long as you are not taking action in any direction, you can’t be “steered” into the right direction. Do something and you can make corrections as you move along!

In the Bible Gideon set out wool fleece and asked God to make it either wet with dew and the ground around it dry and the next day after God made it so (even so much that a bowl of water was squeezed from it) again he asked God to make it dry this time and all of the ground around it wet. The account is found in the book of Judges:

Judges 6:38-40 Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised--look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said." And that is what happened.

Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew--a bowlful of water. Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew." That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.

Some would say that we should not follow this process for trying to discern God’s will or what direction we should take, or how to make decisions in life because God had given Gideon clear direction already and Gideon should have had the faith of Abraham and other Biblical giants of faith and just “do it”!

I, on the other hand, know that many of us are building our faith and aren’t quite up to the giant that we can be. Also, when we “set out the fleece”, it’s for something that we need to make a decision because we’ve received notice, or a word of knowledge or and answer to prayer as to what to do, as Gideon had been. For instance, should I take this job? Should I move? Should I marry this person? Setting out a modern day fleece makes us more observant for answers that are realized around us and can help us to know which way to go in directing our lives.

Let’s say that you have been given an opportunity to get a job 1000 miles away. This is a great job, so you think, but it is 1000 miles away from everything, your family, friends, and everything you know; your comfort zone. It’s great to take calculated risks and “go for it” but wouldn’t you like “confirmation” that this is the right direction for you before you invest time and money to move and get settled and the find out that the opportunity was not real, it wasn’t all that the person said it was, or it fizzled all together?

 Return to read Part 2 which will be next week. I will share my thoughts on how to “set out your fleece”, using an example. (Don't miss a post; sign on as a follower by email and get an RSS feed in your email box every time there is a new post).