Doing Your Best With What You Have
After Ehud came Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an ox goad. He too saved Israel.
Judges 3:31
You’ve probably never heard of him before. All we learn about Shamgar is encapsulated in one verse in the book of Judges. Unlike the detailed account of other figures in the book – Gideon, Samson, and Deborah – Shamgar’s story seems to be a biblical footnote.
But that one verse speaks volumes. Shamgar did something truly remarkable, in single-handedly delivering the Israelites from the Philistines.
As far as we know, Shamgar had no military training, wore no armor, and carried no weapons. Shamgar was a simple plowman. All he had was an ox goad.
An ox goad was a farm implement. In those days, oxen were used to plow the fields. To assure their cooperation, the plowman used a long wooden rod, anywhere from five to ten feet in length and up to two inches in diameter, to prod these sturdy animals into working.
On the one end of the goad was a sharp point. On the other end was a broad, chisel-like blade, used to clean the plow of clay or roots.
When you are choosing weapons with which to do battle, an ox goad wouldn’t have even been an option in the armory. Just imagine what Shamgar could have done with a real weapon such as a sword or spear!
But Shamgar didn’t have a sword or spear. All he had was an ox goad. And that’s all it took.
In this brief account, Shamgar provides three keys to making a difference with your life.
1. Start where you are.
Judges 5:6 describes the lack of public safety because of the marauding Philistines. "In the days of Shamgar son of Anath...the roads were abandoned; travelers took to winding paths." Verse 7 says, "...village life in Israel ceased.”
Shamgar was living in a time and place when his life and property, and the lives and property of his family and countrymen, were at the mercy of Philistine thieves and thugs. He could have seen himself as helpless and hopeless, but he didn’t.
He didn’t wait for perfect circumstances or perfect materials to start. He started where he was.
2. Use what you have.
When God challenged Moses to deliver His enslaved people, Moses balked, saying that he wasn’t equipped for the task. And the Lord asked Moses a probing question: “What’s in your hand?”
In Moses’ case, it was a staff. And yet, as Moses found out, when God is brought into the mix, that staff was used powerfully.
The young shepherd boy, David, is another case in point. All he had was a sling and five smooth stones. Yet that’s all it took to slay Goliath.
And with Shamgar, it was an ox goad.
Isn’t it ironic that some people who have so much do so little, and others who have so little do so much? Don’t let what you don’t have keep you from using what you do have.
3. Do what you can.
Author Mark Batterson offers a simple definition of success: “Success is doing the best you can with what you have where you are.” Perhaps you can’t do everything to change a situation, but you can do something.
“Success is doing the best you can with what you have where you are.”
- Mark Batterson
And who knows if that something might end up being really something?!?
If Shamgar teaches us anything it’s this: God isn’t looking for worthy people to bless. He’s looking for available people to bless.
God isn’t looking for worthy people to bless. He’s looking for available people to bless.
You may not be able to do something as grandiose as someone else. You may not get your name in the headlines or even achieve "15 minutes of fame". But if you will do what you can, God will bless what you do.
Was what Shamgar did significant? It was to God. It was to his family. It was to his nation. The Bible says, "He too saved Israel."
Scripture includes him as an example for us.
Follow that example.
PRAYER
Lord, may I stop making excuses when it comes to making a difference. Remind me of Shamgar’s story and his keys: start where you are …use what you have…and do what you can.
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