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.
Confirming His Presence
Maybe you know how Gideon felt. Gideon was up against the majority. His people Israel were being oppressed by the enemies of Israel, and the Bible introduces his story by saying that Gideon threshed wheat by the wine press to hide in from the Midianites. So, a man who later became a great warrior and leader is hiding from the enemy when we first meet him. Gideon later tells God that he is from a poor family and is the least in his poor family. Everything in Gideon’s life speaks of weakness and fear, not power and courage. Yet, Gideon, by God’s grace, performed an amazing feat in delivering Israel.
God addressed Gideon as, “Thou mighty man of valour.” Then He gave Gideon his commission. Gideon responded, “God, I can’t do what You are asking me to do. I am from a poor family, and I have nothing to give.”
Does God ever command us to do something that we cannot do? Sometimes we think, “Well, no, of course not. God will never tell you to do something you can’t do.” Yet, God has done that many times.
When it came to Gideon, God asked of Gideon something Gideon could never have done on his own. So, God may ask you to do something you cannot do, but He will never ask you to do something that He cannot do. God empowers obedient people!
It’s interesting how God does this. God does not ease our fears by affirming our abilities; He eases our fears by confirming His presence. When Gideon protested to God, the angel of the Lord said to him “The Lord is with thee.” Later, the Lord said to him “Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.” In other words, He did not tell Gideon, “Look, you may not be much, but you are stronger than you think you are. You can do this. You can defeat the Midianites.” He never told Gideon, Moses, Jeremiah, or any of the people whom He commissioned to do great things that they could do it. Instead, what He said was, “I am with you.”
God’s comfort for your fears is not that you are stronger than you think you are but that God Himself is with you in your weakness. It is not a focus on you at all, whether you are strong, weak, or otherwise. It is a focus on God. The greatest challenges of life will be won, not by having a better esteem of yourself, but by having a greater recognition of Who God is and where He is, namely, with you.