Scripture

The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said,”Mighty hero, the Lord is with you.”

Observation

After 40 years of peace under Deborah, the Israelites turn away from the Lord. The Lord hands them over to the Midianites, who for 7 years invade Israel and destroy their crops.

The angel of the Lord appears to Gideon while he is threshing whet at the bottom of a wine press. The angel of he Lord addresses him, “Mighty hero, the lord is with you.”

Gideon replies, “If the lord is with us, why hasn’t he rescued us as he did our ancestors from the Egyptians?” The angel tells Gideon that he is the one the Lord will use to rescue them.

Gideon goes off to prepare an offering for the angel of the Lord. He brings back a goat, some bread, and broth. The angel touches this with the tip of his staff, and fire flares up to consume it all.

Application

It is while Gideon is hiding in a winepress fearful of being caught by the Midianites that the angel of the Lord calls him the mighty hero.

The Lord does not describe us by our current circumstances. He sees the potential that we have and the destiny He has for us. He draws out of us those qualities that he already placed in us.

When God calls us, we might be tempted to think that he is wrong. How could I ever do that? I am the weakest person in the whole country.

When God gives us a task, He gives us the resources and the ability to fulfil the task. We could never do it, but we don’t have to because He does it in us.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for the calling you have on my life. Thank you for the assurance that you will provide all that I need. Amen.