You're Stronger Than You Think

       In Judges chapter six in the Old Testament, the Israelites had done evil in the sight of the Lord by worshipping other gods. The Lord gave them into the hands of the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east. Whenever the Israelites would plant crops, the Midianites would ruin them and take the livestock. The account says the Midianites and Amalekites covered the land like a swarm of locusts, too numerous to count. The Israelites hid from their oppressors in caves, mountains and strongholds. Not a great situation.
           
        The Israelites cried out to the Lord and He sent them a very unlikely deliverer. We find him threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valour.” (Judges 6:12 MEV). Mighty man of valour? It sure didn’t look like it. In verse fourteen, the Lord said to Gideon, “’Go in this strength of yours. Save Israel from the control of Midian. Have I not sent you?’”

         Gideon made excuses and said his clan was the weakest and he the youngest in his family – how could he save anyone? God answered him in verse sixteen, “‘…But I will be with you, and you will strike the Midianites as one man.’” (Italics mine).
           
       You probably know the rest of the story. Gideon defeated the horde of Midianites with only three hundred men, so the Israelites wouldn’t be able to boast and say they did it in their own strength.
           
       The part that interests me the most is the angel of the Lord calling Gideon a mighty man of valour when he was hiding in a winepress. The NLT translates ‘mighty man of valour’ as ‘mighty hero’. In essence, the angel was saying, “don’t let this situation scare you, Gideon. You’re stronger than you think.” And why was he stronger? Because he had God on His side. It wasn’t about Gideon’s strength. It was about God’s strength in Gideon.
           
      The same is true for you and me. No matter what our situation, whether it's a bad report from a doctor, a financial problem, or rocky relationships, God is making a way where there is no way. The Scripture says if God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31). Proverbs 28:1 MEV says that “…the righteous are as bold as a lion.” We are the head and not the tail, above and not below (Deuteronomy 28:13), more than a conqueror, (Romans 8:37), surrounded with God’s favour, (Psalm 52:12) and able to do all things through Christ Who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13).
           
        In short, God’s Word tells us we are victors, not victims. “Now thanks be to God who ALWAYS causes us to triumph in Christ and through us reveals the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.” 2 Corinthians 2:14 MEV. We are the overcomers, not the overcome. “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony…” Revelation 12:11. With the power of God, we can scale a wall. (Psalm 18:29). With God on our side, we are stronger than we think!