MIghty Hero The Lord Is With You

 

In the midst of a 7 years captivity in the hands of the evil Midianites, Gideon was, "called by God" while threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the people he was imprisoned by.

Scripture tells us that one day an angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, "Mighty hero, the Lord is with you." (6:12)

I love this.

Because it is very likely that he felt anything but.

Israel was being oppressed by Midian as they were in a punishment season issued by the Lord for their disobedience.

And my guess is that Gideon felt many things, but confidence was not one of them.

Yet the angel calls him a, "mighty hero."

Ahh... because isn't that JUST like our God to speak to our potential?

And Gideon was being given the task of rescuing Israel. As difficult as it seemed, Gideon was given the order to destroy the alter his Father had made to Baal and reestablish proper worship to God. In doing so, Gideon became a warrior for God against false gods.

If we read the rest of the story about the man of God, we discover that no army recruiter had greater success than Gideon as 32,000 men responded to his call to take down the Midianites in battle. God, though, directed him to reduce the number to eventually 300 men. Gideon led these men against and overwhelming force and, indeed, became a, "mighty hero."

Remember we have the benefit of viewing the entirety of the Word of God. We can see the full story unfold. But for Gideon, he was living the story AS it unfolded. And this prophetic statement served to be true of our once weak man of God.

God speaks to my potential, and yours. He calls us mighty and strong and loved. He calls us to fight battles He's already given us victory over because He believes in our capacity for greatness... He put it there in the first place!

Isn't it just like our God to speak to our potential before an impossible assignment?

Yes!

It really is!