Mighty in God's Eyes: Learning from Gideon's Calling

And the Angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. ... 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.

God sees the end and not the beginning — and He calls the weak so the glory will be His alone.

A Greeting That Sounded Like Mockery

Here the angel of the Lord — the messenger of the Lord, the one who speaks as the Lord — shows up and says to this frustrated, fearful Israelite, "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor." I don't think Gideon felt much like a mighty man of valor at that moment. I wonder if the angel's words didn't sound like mocking words to him in his pitiful situation.

Gideon was frustrated with the futility of his work, accomplishing nothing. Have you ever been there? "Oh my Lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has this happened to us? Where are all His miracles? The Lord has forsaken us." Have you ever felt like Gideon, where it seems God is distant and yet powerful?

God Is Closer Than We Realize

At this very moment, while Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress, the Lord was sitting a short way away. That's an important reminder for us today. Point number three, if you're taking notes: God is often closer than we realize and ready to hear and respond. But He doesn't always respond in the way we might expect.

Verse 14: "Then the Lord turned to Gideon and said, 'Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?'" God says, "You, Gideon, are a mighty man of valor, and I am with you, and I am calling and sending you to deliver your people from the hand of the Midianites."

"You've Got the Wrong Guy"

How would you respond in that situation? Maybe like Gideon. Verse 15: "So he said to Him, 'Oh my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.'"

Gideon responded probably like you would: "God, You've got the wrong guy." I've certainly thought that before. When I had a sense that the Lord was setting an open door before me, directing my steps in a certain direction, in my mind I thought, "You have got the wrong guy." Gideon says, "I'm from this nothing of a tribe; I am the least in my father's house." Maybe he was — but God's choosing is not like our choosing.

God Chooses the Weak So He Gets the Glory

As I shared a couple of weeks ago, the Lord chooses the foolish, the weak, the base, the despised to accomplish His mighty acts. Why? When Paul wrote that in 1 Corinthians, he said, "so that no flesh will glory in His presence." Ultimately God gets the greatest glory. Through us — the weak, the base, the foolish, the despised — He receives great glory when He accomplishes great feats.

He wants to glorify Himself in you. That means He wants to show Himself mighty in your life, so that people say, "That wasn't really from them, was it?" And you say, "No, it had nothing to do with me. It had everything to do with the Lord." That's exactly what's going to happen in the story of Gideon.

We won't get through all of it today, because it's several chapters, but that's what we'll see in this passage. God chooses this guy who's threshing wheat in a winepress, probably frustrated and angry, because God wanted to receive the greatest glory through his life.

In Good Company With Reluctant Leaders

Gideon did not see himself as having what it took. He did not believe he was the right man for the job. And you might not think you are the right person for whatever task the Lord is setting before you, because you see yourself as weak too.

But look at God's response, verse 16: "And the Lord said to Gideon, 'Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.'" Gideon was a hesitant and reluctant leader — and he was in good company. Moses was a hesitant and reluctant leader. Joshua was a hesitant and reluctant leader. If you were with us the last couple of weeks, Barak was a hesitant and reluctant leader. When you get to Jeremiah, the prophet was a hesitant and reluctant leader. In the New Testament we meet Timothy, who was a fearful, hesitant, and reluctant leader whom God called.

"Surely I Will Be With You"

God calls hesitant and reluctant individuals, and He says, "Surely I will be with you." That's the key. When we see the task or the trouble in front of us in light of our own abilities, strengths, or strategy, we seem as grasshoppers — very small, sure to be consumed. By our own strength, our own strategy, our own capacity, we are nothing. The New Testament says apart from Him we can do nothing, but "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength."

"Surely," the Lord said, "I will be with you. You are a mighty man of valor." That's how God viewed Gideon, even though Gideon did not see himself that way. And when did God say it? When Gideon was in this pitiful condition, with wheat husk stuck to his sweaty face, threshing wheat in a winepress. God says, "You're a mighty man of valor."

It encourages me, because God sees the end and not the beginning. He sees what He can do by His strength and His power in the life of an individual who is yielded to Him.