The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
Judges 6:14-16 NIV
“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”
During the period of the Judges, Israel repeatedly fell away from the Lord and worshipped other gods. When they did, they would face oppression from the surrounding nations. Eventually, they would cry out to God, and he would raise a deliverer. And Gideon was one of these that God called to be an instrument of his deliverance.
There seems to have been nothing remarkable about Gideon. His family was well off and in town leadership. But they were involved in the same idolatry as the rest of the nation. And Gideon was timid and fearful. Not the kind of person we might expect God to use to lead an army against an overwhelming foe. But that is who God chose.
God told Gideon to go in his strength and save Israel. Gideon correctly pointed out that he had little strength or significance. He did not have the ability to do what God was calling him to do. But God’s response to him made all the difference. God told him, “I will be with you”, and my strength is sufficient. And with that, it made no difference what strength Gideon had. Because God was with him, he would strike down the enemy.
And what was true for Gideon is also true of me. And of each person that God calls. In ourselves, we are inadequate to the task. But, if God calls us, we can be confident that he will go with us. Our strength is insufficient. But God’s strength is sufficient. Trust him. And follow where he leads.
