Pity the police officers who hit the beat without advanced training. It could cost lives.

God’s servants also need training before they hit the streets; and the Lord wisely prepares a custom-designed, life-long academy for each of us. Consider how Moses spent eighty years in Egypt and beyond before being equipped to lead God’s people toward Canaan. Think of Christ’s three-year school for His disciples.

Don’t underestimate how the Lord wants to use you. He intends to make you a mighty warrior for His kingdom, a prayer warrior, a soldier of righteousness, and a fighter for souls. Your commission is a great commission—the Great Commission.

No, you’re not yet all you’re going to be—but be patient. He who has begun a good work in you will carry it on to completion (Philippians 1:6).

While all of us have feelings of inadequacy, we shouldn’t doubt His adequacy. The apostle Paul once said “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God” (2 Corinthians 3:5).

Though the Angel of the Lord brought a message to Gideon, he still had doubts. He wanted proof—a sign. So he enrolled in the Fleece Academy. He replied, “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” (Judges 6:36-37 NIV).

The next morning the fleece was drenched with dew. Gideon’s faith, however, needed another boost, so he made a second proposal. “Do not be angry with me,” he said. “Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew” (Judges 6:39 NIV).

When the Lord did so, that convinced Gideon and his faith was established.

God wants to use us, but one quality is essential—faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

Faith spends time with the Lord, listening to His Word and gaining an inner sense of His will for our lives.

Faith prays and trusts God with the smaller concerns of life.

Faith learns that the same God who handled the smaller cares can handle the larger ones, too.

Faith learns to claim specific promises relating to the changing and adverse circumstances of life, to cling to those promises, and finally to rest in those promises. And faith learns to maintain its courage even when God delays in answering our sincere prayers.

While preparing by the spring of Harod for the impending conflict, the Lord told Gideon to pare down his army. Gideon’s army “grew” from 33,000 to 300! During the night, Gideon dispatched his commandos. At the signal, every soldier blew his trumpet, broke his jar, and held up his torch. In union they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”

The Midianites, awakened by these surreal images in the blackness of night, panicked and fled, and the land of Israel was delivered from the hands of the enemy.

We need to enroll in a fleece academy today—not that we should question God’s Word and make Him “prove it” to us. But we should trust God for smaller victories, resulting in growing confidence for the larger challenges to come.

If you’re facing difficulty today, consider yourself enrolled in God’s school of faith—Fleece Academy. He wants you to trust Him with all your heart. The smaller challenges in life are simply His way of proving himself, so you can better trust Him with the larger issues of life. Walk by faith and not by sight. Take His Word as the final authority and His promises as the ultimate answer to the cares of life. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world; so follow God’s plan for victory, then go out and be victorious!

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This article was excerpted from Turning Points, Dr. David Jeremiah’s devotional magazine. Call Turning Point at 1-800-947-1993 for your complimentary copy of Turning Points.