And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? But now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.
And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. Judges 6: 12-16;
If the enemies are having upper hand in a man’s life, he is bound to be wretched and miserable. That was the experience of the children of Israel in the hands of the Midianites. For many years, the Midianites oppressed and exploited them, took over their harvests, and every good thing of the land. For fear of the Midianites, the Israelites did not have courage to live in their own built houses and mansions, but ran into caves and holes like animals! This terrible situation continued for complete seven years until God decided to intervene and send a deliverer.
Following the cry of the children of Israel, God decided to raise a deliverer in Gideon to free them from the Midianites’ bondage. The choice of Gideon as a deliverer was entirely God’s. By all standards, Gideon did not see anything in himself that qualified him as a candidate God could use as a deliverer. All that He saw about himself was his poor, pitiful and disadvantaged background, but it appears God saw something in him that he himself did not see. Gideon was obviously a timid man, who for fear of the Midianites, chose to thresh corn in the hidden winepress rather than the open threshing floor, but God called him ‘a mighty man of valour’! God called Gideon a mighty man of valour, not because he possessed some form of physical strength, abilities or wisdom for war; God was simply looking at what He intended to make out of him! It is necessary to emphasize that the picture you see of yourself at the moment is not so much important, it is what the Almighty God wants to make out of you that really matters!
God is still in the business of making ‘a man of valour’ out of ordinary and insignificant people. The scripture says God chooses the weak things of this world to confound the things which are mighty. In preparation for battle against the Midianites, Gideon had recruited a thirty-two thousand man army, thinking that victory would come by the size of his army. However, God plainly told him that He didn’t need that huge number to give Israel victory in the battle. The army was eventually reduced to three hundred people because God wanted Gideon to know that the battle was the Lord’s. The reason why most believers fail woefully in life is because they do not realize that no man can prevail by arms of flesh in the battles of life. As long as you feel sufficient and depend on your physical strength, wisdom, ideas, qualifications, experience and abilities, you make it impossible for God to supply His strength or work through you. As a mortal, you are surrounded by a lot of limitations, but when God works through you, there is no limit to what you can achieve in life!
Another secret of Gideon’s victory was that God was with him. Gideon and his three hundred men army were not trained soldiers but ordinary men who carried no weapons or knew anything about warfare. However, there was one thing they had, God was with them! It is the presence of God in a man’s life that actually makes him strong and empowers him for great exploits. If God is not with you, you will be exploited by the enemies, Satan will take advantage of you at will! It is unfortunate that most people still, do not seek the most valuable thing in life - God’s presence; they place emphasis on other transient things at the expense of God’s presence. The scripture says ‘How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him’. Jesus could do all that He did because God was with Him, there is no way you can do exploits in life and ministry except God is with you.
Dearly beloved, when God is fighting for you, the battles of your life become walk over; little efforts will yield great results. Power for great exploits is still available and accessible if only you will plunge your life into the eternal source which is God. Let God be your priority No. 1 and only one! God is all you need! Seek Him passionately in this New Year as never before; be committed to righteousness, live only for His purpose and you will see how much He can achieve through you. I see the Almighty God making a champion out of you; you will not lose any battle anymore in life in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Shalom!
Ezekiel Olukolajo
(c) 2011
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