Mighty Warrior

This title was given to Gideon, a man who struggled with confidence and insecurity. He was unsure if he heard God correctly, so he put out the fleece and God answered him, but it wasn’t enough…so he put the fleece out again. And God answered him again. 

How is it that God chooses to use people that are full of doubt and fear? When the angel of the Lord found Gideon, he was hiding in the wine press threshing wheat. He and his fellow countrymen chose to retreat and live in caves than to stand up to these enemies of God. Fear had won! (Judges 6:1-2) 

The angel of the Lord came to Gideon with a statement… “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” Gideon argued that God wasn’t with them but had abandoned them. The angel responded that God is sending him to save Israel. Then the defeat is admitted…  “My clan is the weakest in Israel, and I am the youngest in my family…” 

This conversation did not persuade the angel of Lord to change his mind but rather doubled down: “Break down the idols to Baal and the Asherah pole beside it, on your father’s property, and build an altar to God and give an offering unto Him.” So he did! Obedience was the key to turning around this horrible invasion. 

We know how the story ends… God leads Gideon to victory in battle, not with the original 30,000 men he had, but with a mere 300, “Lest they boast they did it in their own strength” (Judges 7:2). 

Friends, our lands are being conquered. Look at Europe. At its root, this evil isn’t winning because it’s got more fighters, but because these once great nations have turned their backs on God. They have chosen to hide in the wine press in hopes it just passes over, or worse yet, only kills their neighbors and not them. This lack of obedience to God ends in the worst kind of cowardice. May God light a Holy fire in our hearts that burns with an unquenchable obedience. And may we go forward in Truth defending the very nation that God has given to us. Tear down the idols! Repent of sin. Return to God. 

Obedience creates mighty warriors that are led by God. It starts there. There is no other way.

(Devotional by Cheryl Hall-Laos)