Mighty Warrior Gideon
Scripture Reading — Judges 6:11-24
When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
God’s people were being threatened by the Midianites, marauders who swooped down out of the hills to ruin crops and villages. God decided to raise up a leader who would defeat them. When the angel called him a “mighty warrior,” Gideon thought the angel was joking. He was the least promising member of his family, which was the weakest clan in his tribe. He was only a farmer and didn’t know anything about battling enemies.
But by the time God finished training Gideon for battle, he was leading three hundred men against 120,000 troops. It was an “impossible” mission, but with Gideon’s small army God sent the Midianites running (Judges 7).
Like Gideon, we often resist the challenges God sets in front of us because we don’t think we are good enough or strong enough or skilled enough to meet them. But God doesn’t ask us to do anything we cannot do.
The apostle Paul went through many trials in his life. But in Philippians 4:13 he wrote, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
Jesus showed by example how to depend on the Father for everything, regardless of what challenges we face. Thanks be to God that because of Jesus’ victory over sin and death, “we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).
Jesus, thank you for conquering sin and death. Help us to be your mighty warriors when you ask us to face trials and defend your name. Amen.
About the author — Thea Leunk
Thea Nyhoff Leunk has been a high school English teacher, a director of Christian education, a pastor of discipleship, and a regional coach for the Christian Reformed Church in North America. She is currently the senior pastor at Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Thea has also written courses for teens and young adults on world religions, Christian faith traditions, and science and the Bible. She and her husband have three adult children.
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