Judges 6:12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour
Perhaps back in September you read the story of the young man who chopped down an ancient and famous tree in the UK. He was in trouble! It was a tree that was somewhat famous because of its appearance in the 1991 version of a Robin Hood movie. People were really up in arms. In fact, the news story I read stated that one lady said she was iridescent about it. Now, I’m not sure, but I’m guessing that iridescent means that she was really angry, on fire, about this.
I thought about that as I read Judges 6. In Judges 6 we read about another man you might call a lumber jack. His name means “chopper,” “hewer,” and by extension perhaps “warrior.” This man is Gideon. By God’s command, Gideon cast down the altar of Baal which belonged to his father and cut down the grove associated with the worship of this false god. People were incensed and furious about this. They wanted to kill him. They were angry that he would go after their god, even though this god had actually led them away from Jehovah and consequently was the very reason for many of their problems.
The problems went from bad to worse. In verse 2 we find that Israel in general and Gideon in particular had an enemy, the Midianites, who were taking what they wanted from the Israelites. This was a consequence of Israel’s sin. We find more enemies in verse 30 where it wasn’t the Midianites who were coming after Gideon, but the friends of his father who were angry because Gideon had cut down the grove of Baal. In verse 11 we have fear of the Midianites and in verse 27 we have more fear, Gideon was fearful of his own father’s household.
Gideon was a very unlikely hero and warrior, yet in Hebrews 11:32 we find Gideon in the Hall of Faith. Famously, when the angel of the Lord came to commission Gideon, the Bible says, “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.” I can only imagine what Gideon thought when he heard those words. Mighty? Man? Valor? Gideon didn’t feel like he was any of those things, yet what God was saying was an indication of what God saw. God saw potential, what could be.
We see here that you live up to your potential when you live up to your problems. Sometimes we think, “If I have a great opportunity, I need to seize that.” You have a million dollars, a thousand acres, a lot of friends, great intellect, or whatever, and you need to be a good steward of that, but if you look at the Bible and even history, specifically here at Gideon’s life, you find that you live up to your potential when you live up to your problems.
So many opportunities that we admire today were problems when they actually appeared. I’m thankful for a guy who has a thousand acres, a million dollars, or great abilities and wants to use them for the Lord. That is fantastic! But what if you don’t have any of those things? You may never have any of those things, but something you do have right now is a problem. More than likely you have more than one problem. You probably do not look at a problem as an opportunity, but Gideon’s opportunities and potential lay in his problems. So, you live up to your potential when you live up to your problems. Are you being a good steward of the problems that God has allowed in your life today. You may not have the money, health, intellect, or influence you wish you had, but are you being a good steward of the problems you have?
Gideon looked to his past. In verse 13 he says to the Lord, “Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” You cannot base your actions and future on what has been. Israel had been led by God and now they were deserted by God.
Gideon looked to his own power. In verse 15 he basically said, “I am from a poor family, and I am the least in my poor family.” Verse 34 says, “But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon.” It wasn’t Gideon’s power; it was God’s power. It wasn’t Gideon’s past; it was God’s story and history. God says in verse 14 that He had sent Gideon and in verse 16 that He would be with him.
There are two questions you can ask yourself today. The first is, “What does God want?” You have a problem. You wish you had money, influence, better health, or whatever. You don’t have an opportunity as you tend to think of it. Instead, you have a problem. So, what does God want?
Second, ask, “What will God bless?” This is a great challenge. What are the problems you have, and are you going to live up to your problems? That is why I think these two questions are crucial. I am not suggesting you go willy-nilly against your problems without a thought or a prayer. You need prayer and God’s guidance. What does God want? I know what my problem is, so what does God want? What will God bless? God is a God of righteousness, so what will God bless?
What do you have today? Gideon had nothing but a problem, but Gideon responded to God in obedience. You live up to your potential when you live up to your problems.