Living Room Study

Judges 6

“The Angel of the Lord came, and He sat under the oak that was in
Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite. This son Gideon was
threshing wheat in the wine vat in order to hide it from the
Mideanites. Then the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said: ‘The
Lord is with you, mighty warrior.’”

Most Christians have a favorite biblical hero of the faith. We’d all
love to be more like Jesus, but we generally choose guys like the
apostle Paul, or king David to identify with. Ladies may choose Ruth
or Esther.

Personally, I can identify with Gideon. He never considered himself a
hero. He was just trying to get by. When we first meet Gideon, the
Mideanites were raiding Israel during harvest time. Gideon was
secretly threshing his grain indoors, because he was afraid of the
Mideanite raiders.

I identify with Gideon because he had no idea he was about to be a
leader. As a matter fact, he just wanted to be left alone. Gideon
wished he was invisible, yet God was about to thrust him into the
spotlight.

Because Gideon’s faith was low, he couldn’t visualize himself as a
leader. So when the Angel of the Lord visited Gideon, the first thing
He did was to pronounce Gideon as God created him: “Mighty Warrior”.
God was letting Gideon know He desired to lead Israel through Gideon.
God would be Gideon’s strength; therefore, an otherwise weak and
low-esteemed individual was about to be at the center of God’s
miraculous deliverance!

How do you view yourself? Are you a leader? More importantly, are
you willing to let God lead you? If so, be prepared for the Lord to
visit you during times of great trauma and stress. In the moment when
you feel all hope is lost, perhaps, God may call you to act in a
courageously faithful manner.

Are you willing to follow Him anywhere, anytime? Then the Lord is
with you, mighty warrior!

Blessings.

Steve Wiggins