For seven years the Midianites had swept through Israel like locusts, stealing crops and animals. People hid in caves. Gideon was secretly threshing wheat in a winepress so the enemy would not see him. That is where the angel of the LORD found him. Gideon did not feel brave, chosen or strong. He felt small and forgotten. His story is a gift to anyone who has ever felt too weak, too poor or too ordinary to be used by God.
God Names You by Purpose
The angel greeted Gideon with words that must have sounded strange: “The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour” (Judges 6:11-12). Gideon was hiding, not fighting. But God saw what He would make of him. God often chooses people the world overlooks. Paul says that God chose the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and the weak things to confound the mighty, so that no one can boast before Him (1 Corinthians 1:27-29). In Christ, your old labels do not define you. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away (2 Corinthians 5:17). God does not call you by your fear. He calls you by His purpose for your life.
What negative label have you believed about yourself, and what truth from God’s Word will you replace it with this week?
Honest Questions, Sending Answers
Gideon was honest. “If the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us?” he asked. Where were the miracles their fathers talked about? The LORD did not scold him. He said, “Go in this thy might... have not I sent thee?” Gideon replied that his family was poor and he was the least in his father’s house. God answered, “Surely I will be with thee” (Judges 6:13-16). The Bible makes room for honest questions. David prayed, “How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD?” (Psalm 13:1-2). God can handle our doubts. But He does not leave us in them. He sends us. And He tells us, as He told Paul, that His strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
What honest question have you been afraid to bring to God, and when this week will you pray about it openly?
Peace at the Altar
Gideon asked for a sign and brought an offering of meat and bread. The angel touched it with his staff, and fire rose from the rock and consumed it (Judges 6:21-24). Gideon was terrified because he had seen the angel of the LORD face to face. But God said, “Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.” So Gideon built an altar and called it Jehovah-shalom, the LORD is peace. Before Gideon fought Midian, he found peace with God. That is always the right order. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you” (John 14:27). Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). Peace with God gives courage for every battle.
Where do you need God’s peace before facing a challenge this week, and how will you set aside time to receive it in prayer?
Conclusion
Gideon started in hiding and ended at an altar of peace. God named him by his future, welcomed his honest questions, sent him in God’s own strength, and gave him peace before the battle. Through Jesus, God does the same for us. He makes us new, stays with us in our weakness, and gives us peace through the cross. Whatever winepress you are hiding in, the LORD is with you, and He has a purpose for you.
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