Day 7 - You got to use what you got, to get what you want

In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travelers walked through byways. Judges 5:6


A study important inventors from the period of about 1880 to 1930, the likes of the Wright brothers, Thomas Edison, and Alexander Graham Bell has revealed that many of these men were very interested in physical devices and artifacts when they were young.  They began work on major inventions before they were 30, had no university education and generally worked alone.

Shamgar, a judge in Israel, slew 600 Philistines with an oxgoad.  An oxgoad was long eight-foot pole used by farmers to keep the oxen in line while plowing.  Blunt on one end to guide the oxen and sharp on the other to chisel up stubborn roots.  Shamgar was not a military man, nor a politician.  He was just a farmer with his tool. Israel was under oppression.  The main roads were shut down.  To be out in public was to to put your life at risk.  Bands of marauders and terrorists were everywhere. If anyone decided to travel, they had to take the back roads.

Shamgar was dissatisfied with the way things were.  As a farmer how could he get his goods distributed in a gangland environment?  How could he provide for his family? His economic security was in jeopardy.  He got fed up.  So, he took action.  With no military training, no weaponry and no army to aid him, Shamgar delivered the nation using the only thing available to him at the time - an oxgoad.

All you have is all you need.  Jesus said,  "The kingdom of God is not coming with a visible display, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."  Be like Shamgar today.  Be innovative. Be first. Be great.  He wasn't a judge at the time. He was a farmer.  History declared him a judge. What will history declare you?     (to be continued)

Prayer:
Lord, show me the resources that are available to me today that I may have missed.  Grant me the courage and tenacity to embark upon a mission for you and see it through to completion, In Jesus Name, Amen.

Go Deeper?
Judges 3:31; Judges 21:25; 1Chornicles 4:9-10 ; Luke 1:48; John 15:5; Acts 26:22; 1 Corinthians 14:26