| Judges 6:1-40; Luke 22:54-23:12; Psalm 95:1-96:13; Proverbs 14:5-6
“The Angel of the Lord came, and he sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in the wine vat in order to hide it from the Midianites. Then the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said: ‘The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.’ Gideon said to Him, ‘Please Sir, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened? And where are all His wonders that our fathers told us about? They said, ‘Hasn’t the Lord brought us out of Egypt? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.’ The Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the power of Midian. Am I not sending you?’
He said to Him, ‘Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.’ ‘But I will be with you,’ the Lord said to him. ‘You will strike Midian down as if it were one man.'” (Judges 6:11-16)
Man!! There is so much excellent stuff in this reading today!! Again, we find Israel in bondage because of their disobedience to the Lord. Youngsters like Gideon are wondering about this God of deliverance. “Well, we’ve heard all the Egypt stuff, but what have You done lately? Why have You abandoned us?” God blew right over that and gave Gideon an assignment. It was like He was saying, “Hey, you wanna see a miracle – you got it little man, and I’m gonna use you to do it – hahaha!!”
God tells Gideon to go deliver Israel with what is within him. God always builds us up and is constantly trying to draw out the gifts that are within us. We have no bragging rights of course because the strengths and talents we possess are from Him, but He just loves to encourage us to walk in what He has put in us.
Of course, Gideon, just like many of us, begins to stutter out some reasons as to why he’s not the guy for the job. “First off, my family isn’t high in the rankings in case you haven’t noticed. FYI, I am the youngest in my family too. If You want to pull this thing off, You may want to use my cousin in the bigger tribe, he’s huge.” Remember, God is not looking at you naturally, He’s drawing out the supernatural that He has placed within you. Those gifts coupled with total dependency on Him make it all come together. As you answer your call miracles will become apparent.
I know you may still be down on yourself despite what I’ve said, but I’d like to take you to the very first thing God said when He saw Gideon, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” Gideon was hiding, the curse was all around him. He did not FEEL like God was with him and he certainly did not feel like a mighty warrior. Gideon’s opinions about himself did not change or negate the call that was on his life and his feelings and circumstances were not accurate concerning the presence of God. I want you to notice that before Gideon ever did anything to be called a warrior God ascribed the title to him. God knows our potential and calls it out. Whether you feel Him, He is there whispering in your ear, “God is with you mighty warrior, arise, arise and use what I have placed within you.”
PRAYER:
Lord, my insecurities, inadequacies and failures have me with my head down. I apologize to You for that. I’m going to choose today to pick my head up and accept the challenge You have placed before me. I am going to do my best every day to fulfill the purpose You have for me and if I fail, I will immediately get up and press on. I am a mighty warrior. I walk in the presence of God. I cannot fail indefinitely because greater is He who is in me than He that is in the world. My God said He would never leave nor forsake me. I am ready for battle because my God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. Hooah, OohRah, Hooyah, Hallelujah! Let’s roll…In the name of Jesus I pray, amen. |
