“Mighty Warrior”
The
angel of the LORD came and sat down 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 up out of
The
LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save
“Pardon
me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save
The
LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”
Gideon
replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is
really you talking to me. Please do not go away until I come back and bring my
offering and set it before you.”
And
the LORD said, “I will wait until you return.”
Gideon
went inside, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah
of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its
broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.
The
angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them
on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. Then the angel of the
LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that
was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread.
And the angel of the LORD disappeared. When Gideon realized that it was the
angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel
of the LORD face to face!”
But
the LORD said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”
Judges 6:11-23
God gives us names. Maybe not the names we have right now, but
names for the future. God called Gideon “a man of valor.” God called him a
“mighty warrior.” Gideon didn’t understand. He was afraid, and he made excuses
as being the weakest in Manasseh. He even asked for signs from God.
We too may doubt our own abilities and potential. But let us
never doubt what God can do with us when we trust and obey Him. Gideon’s God is
the same God who will help us accomplish all that He asks us to do.
We can face any fear when we know the
Lord is with us.
Our Daily Bread –