Me God?

Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, "The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!" Gideon said to Him, "O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?' But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites." Then the LORD turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?" So he said to Him, "O 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." And the LORD said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man." Then he said to Him, "If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me. – Judges 6.11-17

A lot happened in the book of Judges. There are all kinds of great lessons and events. We learn a lot about people and why they do what they do. We also that God uses all kinds of people, and he often uses the ones we would think the most unlikely. Of course we shouldn’t be surprised. God tells us in 1 Corinthians that God most often uses he weak and the feeble and those who are not extra smart or extra wise. He tends to use the everyday Joe Bloggs of this world to do His work.

Gideon was such a man.

When we meet Gideon we could hardly guess that he was destined for such great things. He is hiding from the Midianites threshing wheat on a wine press. It seem like much of an auspicious beginning.

Imagine he thoughts when the angel say ‘You mighty man of valour!’

He ignores that at first when he questions why they are where they are. He didn’t understand why they left Egypt, went through all their conquests, and yet were now in captivity to the Midianites.

God ignores the complaint and just says ‘you go out and defeat the Midianites.’

‘Me? I am the least man of the least tribes from Israel!’ ‘Who am I,’ Gideon thought, ‘to do such a thing?’

Then God gives the answer that makes it all possible – ‘I am with you,  the victory is yours.’

We may often feel overwhelmed at the job God has called us to do. It may seem like it is just too much for people like us. I certainly know I can feel like that sometimes.

But the same God who was with Gideon is with me today. I feel like the least of the least of the tribes or the chief of sinners. How can God use me?

He can and will be cause He is God and he loves to use those who don’t seem like the ones to use. That way we have no choice but to give Him the glory for any success.