Judges 6

God sent a prophet to Israel in the days of Gideon. That messenger told the people what they already had been told in the past. God had brought them out of Egypt. He had warned them not to fear the gods of the Amorites. But they had not obeyed His voice. This unwillingness to know what they already actually knew had led to the Lord's discipline. It was the Lord who gave them into the hand of the Midianites who were then oppressing them.

The people were starving. The angel of the Lord met Gideon when he was trying to hide what little food they had from Israel's enemies. Yet the Lord spoke to this frightened man a good word. He called him a “mighty man of valor.” In our fear, loneliness, despair, and weakness, we need to hear the Voice of the Son of God, and surrender to His good Word. “The Lord is with you.”

When people are brought low, they must be visited by God and by His people. We are to be the body of Christ to those who are weak. We must be willing to nurture others in hope. When we are weak, we need to hear the voice of the Son of God through others, and take heart. This may take some time. Even Gideon, who heard those words, “mighty man of valor” from the angel of the Lord, had a very difficult time believing.

The angel had to listen to Gideon's objections. He had to patiently show this new judge signs that it was the Word of God that he was bringing to him. The Lord is slow to anger. He will help us in our weakness, and bring out His strength from the place within us where He has His own mighty presence. He will show us that He is our peace.

When we know that God's Word is true, we can grow in our courage to do what He has for each of us to do. Gideon would have to confront his own father and a whole community of Israelites that had fallen into the slavery of idolatry. He would kill the sacred bull that was part of the system of false worship. He would tear down the altar of Baal in which his family and neighbors had placed their hopes. The root problem that Israel had was not the Midianites. It was their own surrender to false gods. That root problem had to be confronted.

Even after we have come to believe in the Word of God, we still need His strong help. God filled Gideon with His Spirit, and He gave Him more than one sign to further nurture him to be the spiritual leader of Israel that he needed to be at that moment.

We are the Lord's chosen people who have become the body of Christ. Even the Head of the body, Jesus, our great Deliverer, grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. If that is true of the human nature of the Lord, how much more will God patiently help us as we seek Him?

Jesus was very aware of timing. He would not be pushed to the cross ahead of God's schedule. He said, “My time has not yet come.” The Lord is patient. But He is also deliberate. He will accomplish His holy purposes in you and through you. You can work out your own calling with fear and trembling because God is at work within you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. He is your confidence. He will lead you to the place where you can find hope again. He will lead you on to victory.