You Are Stronger Than You Think
The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years He gave them into the hands of the Midianites. [The MIdianites] . . . so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help.
. . . The angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior."
"Pardon me, my Lord," Gideon replied, "but if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian."
The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?" Judges 6:1-14
. . . The angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior."
"Pardon me, my Lord," Gideon replied, "but if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian."
The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?" Judges 6:1-14
The LORD is with you, mighty warrior!
The Israelites had been suppressed for seven years by the Midianites. They ravaged the land and destroyed all the crops and livestock on a continual basis. The Midianites kept such a watchful eye over the land that the Israelites had to hide to thresh their grain. Gideon had to hide the grain in a winepress otherwise the Midianites would confiscate it!
It was under those dire conditions that the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon. God was about to intervene and bring relief to His people but He needed a human vessel to use. Gideon was God's chosen instrument for the task. He complained about how the LORD had abandoned them to their enemies, not realizing that he was the very person God was going to use to bring relief to His people!
Two things are worth noting:
First, God called Gideon a mighty warrior! But preceding that designation, "mighty warrior," is the phrase, "The LORD is with you." What made Gideon a mighty warrior was the fact that the LORD was with him! That is significant. You and I cannot be designated as mighty without the Presence of the LORD. Be encouraged that no matter how impossible the task ahead may be, you are a mighty warrior strong enough to fight and overcome because the LORD is with you.
Second: God asked Gideon to go in the strength he had and fight the Midianites. God added, "Am I not sending you?" Again, the difficult mission becomes possible only because of the Presence of the LORD is with Gideon! When the LORD is with us, we are transformed into mighty warriors capable of undertaking what might appear to be impossible.
You are stronger than you think because the LORD is with you. Go in the strength you have and undertake whatever exploits God has called you to.
The Israelites had been suppressed for seven years by the Midianites. They ravaged the land and destroyed all the crops and livestock on a continual basis. The Midianites kept such a watchful eye over the land that the Israelites had to hide to thresh their grain. Gideon had to hide the grain in a winepress otherwise the Midianites would confiscate it!
It was under those dire conditions that the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon. God was about to intervene and bring relief to His people but He needed a human vessel to use. Gideon was God's chosen instrument for the task. He complained about how the LORD had abandoned them to their enemies, not realizing that he was the very person God was going to use to bring relief to His people!
Two things are worth noting:
First, God called Gideon a mighty warrior! But preceding that designation, "mighty warrior," is the phrase, "The LORD is with you." What made Gideon a mighty warrior was the fact that the LORD was with him! That is significant. You and I cannot be designated as mighty without the Presence of the LORD. Be encouraged that no matter how impossible the task ahead may be, you are a mighty warrior strong enough to fight and overcome because the LORD is with you.
Second: God asked Gideon to go in the strength he had and fight the Midianites. God added, "Am I not sending you?" Again, the difficult mission becomes possible only because of the Presence of the LORD is with Gideon! When the LORD is with us, we are transformed into mighty warriors capable of undertaking what might appear to be impossible.
You are stronger than you think because the LORD is with you. Go in the strength you have and undertake whatever exploits God has called you to.
Prayer: Lord, I feel very inadequate for the task at hand but because you are with me, I feel empowered to press on. Thank you for divine strength. Amen.