The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.
Six more words, and the charge was complete.
Go in the strength you have . . . (v14)
If we take a step back and look into that winepress, we see a scared little boy hiding from a big bully.
But Lord . . . (m)y clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family (v15).
God saw something much different, though. He saw a man in whom He could display His own strength. A mighty God-made-warrior chosen from the least and the weakest. Called to show off His own power and might.
Isn’t it just like God to call that man to unafraid? Isn’t is just like Him to name him a
Mighty warrior?
Gideon’s job was no easy feat. Calling his own father out for idolatrous acts. He could have been ridiculed, ostracized, not to mention killed, and by his own family, if he’d been caught tearing down Baal’s altar. (See verse 27.)
That’s why God started with those seven words. Declaring the truth of Gideon’s identity. Revealing the peace on which he could stand. The wholeness of God in all of His might and His fear-worthiness.
In His infinite wisdom and grace, Almighty God bestowed on Gideon the truth He saw.
I am with you, Gideon.
Therefore, you are a mighty warrior, full of strength.
And God’s spoken word moved Gideon from helpless victim hiding out in a pit to valiant soldier tearing down false gods (vv 25-29), conquering enemies in His name (Judges 7).
The same is true for us today. Just like with Gideon, God’s Word can move us out of a fear-filled pit and into true freedom. Into true living. Into life unafraid.
It starts with properly placed fear in the only One Who can handle it all.
*I’ve written a short ebook on living unafraid. A manifesto, if you will. And I would love for you to read it, to find the challenge to really live. Unafraid. Next week, I’ll offer it when I launch my new personal blog (www.BriannaRWasson.com), but you can get it here right now. Just click here for the download. Then start living. Unafraid.
Bria Wasson
