It Doesn’t Take an Angel

When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you mighty warrior.” Judges 6:12 New International Version

Gideon felt abandoned and helpless. The Midianites had invaded the land, destroyed

the crops, and killed the livestock. His people were forced to live in caves, and he had

to hide in a winepress to thresh his wheat. Then an angel greeted him with what must

have seemed like a huge joke. “The Lord is with you mighty warrior,” said the angel.

If the Lord was with him, why was his country being destroyed? If he was a mighty

warrior, why was he hiding in a hole like a scare rabbit? The angel tells him to “Go in

the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand.” But what strength? As far

as Gideon was concerned, he belonged to the weakest of clans, and he was the least

important person in his whole family. How could he do anything important, let alone

something heroic?” The Lord simply answered, “ I will be with you.”

That’s what makes Gideon a mighty warrior – not his skill, his connections or his

courage. He is mighty because the Lord is with him. In fact ,in the great battle that

followed, Israel wins without drawing a weapon. With a light, a trumpet, and a shout

Gideon and his 300 Israelites frighten off the entire Midian army. Or rather God

frightened them off.

When we are feeling beat down, weak, and in a hole, we have the same assurance that

Gideon had. The Lord is with us. We don’t need an angel to tell us that. It’s there in

God’s word. So instead of reciting to ourselves the long list of everything against us, as

Gideon did at first, let’s recite the only thing that really matters: “The Lord is with me.”

And that is enough to face any battle in life and make us braver than lions.

Mark Miller