The Lord is With You

"...and the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him," The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor" Gideon said to Him, "O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. Then the Lord turned to him and said "Go in this might of yours and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?" So he said to Him, "O my Lord how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh and I am the least in my father's house." And the Lord said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man" ~Judges 6:13-16

I slept in a little later than usual this morning and made my espresso knowing that I have a full day ahead of me. Even now, as I type this, I'm battling within my mind to succumb to the pressures and demands of the day. As I picked up my Bible for my morning devotion's, the Holy Spirit seemed to guide me to this portion of scripture.

I found my fear was not much different than Gideon's great fear. We usually fear the things we can't control so we end up paralyzed due to the circumstances we face much like Gideon.

The Angel of the Lord had already affirmed that the Lord saw him and called him a "Mighty Man of Valor". Immediately, Gideon questions the Lord's affirmation and wants to know, "If I am what you say I am, where are all the miracles?" He went on to say that the Lord had abandoned him into the hands of the Midianites.

His response is very familiar to human kind. We seem to want God to do something for us that He has already done. The Lord's response to Gideon was, "Go in this might of yours...." Basically, Gideon was abdicating his responsibility (response-ability) his ability to respond.

Abdicate means to relinquish, give up, renounce withdraw. Abdicate also means to give up your rights or authority and responsibility. Gideon was seeking to abandon his post and God was not having it. "Go in this might of yours .....have I not sent you .....surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man".

Whatever you may be facing today I encourage you to draw strength from God's Word, even if you feel weak like Gideon. God delights in our weaknesses when we give them to Him. For it is then that He can show Himself strong.

"The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor.... Go in this might of yours...have I not sent you!!