God's Heroes

I read this recently in a devotional called Streams in the Desert, compiled by Mrs. Chas. E. Cowman. It's quite a thought:

   "And when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord reaised up a deliverer...who delivered them, even Othniel...Caleb's younger brother. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him." (Judges 3:9, 10)
   God is preparing His heroes; and when opportunity comes, He can fit them into their place in a moment, and the world will wonder where they came from.
   Let the Holy Ghost prepare you, dear friend, by the discipline of life; and when the last finishing touch has been given to the marble, it will be easy for God to put it on the pedestal, and fit it into its niche.
   There is a day coming when, like Othniel, we, too, shall judge the nations, and rule and reign with Christ...But ere that glorious day can be we must let god prepare us, as He did Othniel at Kirjath-Sepher, amid the trials of our present life, and the little victories, the significance of which, perhaps, we little dream. At least, let us be sure of this, and if the Holy Ghost has an Othniel ready, the Lord of Heaven and Earth has a throne prepared for him.
                                      ~A.B. Simpson