What is Your Ox Goad? LTC SDF (AL) Joel F. Carwile Chief of Chaplains, SGAUS
SGAUS State Guard Association of the United States Home Page	Last week, we began with the principle, start where you are. We talked about the sacred now and also understood that we cannot “be paralyzed by the past nor hypnotized by the future.” We learned that “anyone can start from now and make a brand-new ending,” and we embraced the concept that we are never too old and never too young to simply “start where we are.” Shamgar was willing to “start where he was” and be used by God to become a deliverer. But how did Shamgar do it? What did he use to defeat the Philistines? These questions bring us to our next principle: use what you have. Use What You Have Let’s go back to the scriptures we read last week. Judges 3:31 And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel. Judges 5:6 In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways. All Shamgar had was an ox goad. Remember last week’s definition of the ox goad: A long wooden pole that has been tipped with a sharpened iron point at one end and capped with a flattened chisel-like blade at the other end. The sharp end was used to poke the tough hide of the oxen to keep them motivated for pulling the plow; the flattened chisel-like blade was used to scrape the plowshare free of roots, thorns, and accumulated clay. Why didn’t Shamgar have a sword, shield, or helmet? He wasn’t a professional soldier: he was a man of the soil, not a man of war. Another reason there were no swords, spears, or other weapons was that the art of making weapons and blacksmithing had been lost. The moral and social decline had decimated the Hebrew people. Four centuries after Shamgar, in the early days of King Saul, identical conditions prevailed: 1 Sam 13:19 Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears. Shamgar started where he was, and he used what he had. He picked up his ox goad and went to war. His ox goad became his weapon, and God used him to deliver the Hebrews from the Philistines. Maybe today, you are like Shamgar, and all you have is an ox goad. Whatever it may be, with God as your ox goad, it can become lethal to the enemy. Let’s look at three ox goads we have at our disposal that God can use in us and through us: Ox Goad Number 1: Your Dreams and Visions Joel 2:28/Acts 2:28: We shall see dreams and visions. Every great thing we will ever do begins as a dream or vision. Habakkuk 2:1-3 ^1 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. ^2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. ^3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Ox Goad Number 2: Your Enthusiasm Enthusiasm has been defined as “that state of exuberance in which all things seem possible” and “faith set on fire.” It makes your mind sharper, your arm stronger, and your feet swifter. Enthusiasm lifts your spirits and fires up your will to persevere. It motivates and empowers you. Enthusiasm can compensate for a lack of money, skill, or talent. If you lack enthusiasm, then pray for it. Psalms 66:1-2 ^1 Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: ^2 Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. Psalms 71:23 My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed. Ox Goad Number 3: Your Gifts Thomas Edison, the father of 1,400 inventions, said, “If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astonish ourselves.” Billy Sunday, the great preacher of the early twentieth century, commented, “More people fail through lack of purpose than through lack of talent.” What most of us need is not more talent, but the willingness to do more with the talent we have. AMEN and amen. What is that unique gift or talent God has given you? 1 Cor 12:4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. Romans 12:6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us. 1 Cor 12:28 And God hath set some in the church. 1 Peter 4:10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. We don’t need a lot of things we think we need in order to succeed. You may not have the monetary resources or the education you think it takes, but you can start where you are and use what you have - especially if you have the blessing of God on your life. God approached Moses in the wilderness through the burning fiery bush and told him to return to Egypt, confront Pharaoh, and lead the Hebrews up from slavery. Moses immediately slinked into an excuse mode. “Who, me? I don’t have what it takes to do that!” So God says to Moses, “What is that in your hand?” (Exodus 4:2) Moses replied, “Well, Lord, all I have is this shepherd’s staff,” and God says, “That will do. Throw it on the ground.” When Moses obeyed, his staff turned into a snake. Then God told him to pick it up by the tail. Moses did, and it became a staff again. This staff was the instrument of God to turn the Nile River into blood and bring other great plagues on Egypt. It was the tool God used to part the Red Sea and bring about other miracles in the wilderness. That shepherd’s staff wasn’t much, but dedicated to God, it became a mighty tool! What is it that you already have that you can use to be a blessing to others? What has God already given you to help the body of Christ? For the shepherd boy David, his ox goad was a sling and stones. For the widow woman in Elijah’s day, her ox goad was a little meal and oil in the bottom of a barrel. For the little boy who brought his sack lunch when Jesus was preaching, his ox goad was five loaves and two fishes. For Samson, his ox goad was the jawbone of a donkey. God can use anything you got as an ox goad, just give it to Him.
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