Mighty warrior, what are your plans for today? Maybe you don\u2019t see yourself as a mighty warrior but as a weak, exhausted infantryman slugging it out in the trenches\u2026no glory\u2026no awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God called Gideon a mighty warrior before<\/em> he sent him into battle! Why would the Almighty choose someone who was doubtful and afraid to save Israel from the Midianites? I\u2019d call him an\u00a0unlikely candidate for the assignment; God called him a mighty warrior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The story in Judges 6-8 (NIV) is a cliff-hanger. One brave man with 300 soldiers going to battle against the strong army of Midian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Backstory: the Israelites had done evil and the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Midianites for seven years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBecause the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel\u2026they invaded the land to ravage it. Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gideon enters the story. As he threshes wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites, an angel of the Lord comes and sits down under the oak tree and speaks to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Lord is with you, mighty warrior.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n If that happened to me, I probably would have said, \u201cWho are you and what are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gideon doesn\u2019t ask for identification. He just responds to the statement. \u201cBut sir, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, \u2018Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?\u2019 But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Notice that right up front, Gideon asks why<\/em>. Knowing Israel\u2019s history, he expected wonders such as generations before him had seen and concluded the Lord had abandoned Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Lord sort of ignores his comments and says, \u201cGo in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian\u2019s hand. Am I not sending you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Go in the strength you have! His confidence would be in the One who assigned the task. \u201cAm I not sending you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gideon offers logical reasons for hesitating to accept this mission. \u201cMy clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Lord answers, \u201cI will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gideon wants proof the mission will be successful: \u201cI will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.\u2019 And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew\u2014a bowlful of water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThen Gideon said to God, \u2018Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one mmore test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew.\u2019 That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The response to Gideon\u2019s call for men to join him in battle is amazing\u201432,000. But the Lord doesn\u2019t want Midian to think Israel\u2019s strength defeated them. He instructs Gideon to reduce the number to 300. Long story short:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMidian was subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted their heads no more. And the country was quiet for forty years\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n My favorite line from this intriguing story is this: \u201cGideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it\u201d (Judges 8:4).<\/p>\n\n\n\nMy favorite line from Gideon's story is this: \u201cGideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it\u201d (Judges 8:4). <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n Are you there today? You\u2019ve done everything you know to do, given more that you thought you had to give, endured more than you believed you could endure. But you refuse to give up. You are exhausted but still in pursuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mighty warrior, don\u2019t lose heart. God is with you. His strength is adequate for the task. All Gideon had to go on was the word of the Lord. And it was enough. <\/p>\n\n\n\nMighty warrior, don\u2019t lose heart. God is with you. His strength is adequate for the task. All Gideon had to go on was the word of the Lord. And it was enough. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n Seek the Lord for direction. And then keep moving forward. No glory. No awards. But the One who chose you is with you and he will crown your efforts with success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Would you tell me how the Lord has encouraged you to persevere despite your exhaustion? And please share this with your friends!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a9 Dianne Barker 2020<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mighty warrior, what are your plans for today? Maybe you don\u2019t see yourself as a mighty warrior but as a weak, exhausted infantryman slugging it out in the trenches\u2026no glory\u2026no awards. God called Gideon a mighty warrior before he sent him into battle! Why would the Almighty choose someone who was doubtful and afraid to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[9,582,18],"class_list":["post-1402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-dianne-barker","tag-gideon-exhausted-but-still-in-pursuit","tag-perseverance"],"yoast_head":"\n