I Will Be With You

In Judges chapters 6-8, you will find a short history of a man named Gideon, or sometimes referred to as Jerubbaal. Gideon became a judge to Israel for 40 years.

In the opening scene of chapter 6, Israel once again had fallen away from God. The result was the same of leaving their God, and they were over ran by the enemy. This time the enemy was the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples. These enemies were desert nomads that would raid the Israelites crops just at the right time, take their plunder, and being camel jockeys—made their escape fast and sure.

Time after time this had happened, so being harvest time once again, Gideon was beating out some wheat in a wine press, hiding from imminent raid from the enemy. “When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, ‘The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.’”

Just like Gideon, many of us rather than letting God’s words sink deep into our spirit, we give our opinion why these things spoken to us cannot happen. First of all, Gideon starts out if I am so mighty, why am I hiding in a wine press and why are my people being persecuted. Gideon continues by telling God, “my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

Again, “The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianities, leaving none alive.

The story of Gideon has many twists and turns. However, the truth that stood out to me as I read it this time was God did not refute any of the facts——that Gideon was hiding from the Midianites, or that he was from the weakest tribe and the family last in line in that tribe, or that the Israelites were in a real mess because of their choices. While all of that was true, the game changer was that God Himself, was going to be with Gideon to accomplish His plan for Gideon and His people. Therefore, Gideon could be the Mighty Warrior that God had called him to be—because He would be with him.

The marvelous truth is that we have the same promise on steroids. We now have the precious Holy Spirit indwelling us, the Word repeatedly showing us that nothing can separate us from the love of God, that He will never leave us or forsake us, and Jesus not only is a friend that sticks closer than a brother, but interceding for us with our Father.

The bottom line is this: the One that calls us to do anything for Him, will be with us to see that it is accomplished through our obedience! So next time the Lord comes to you with a new assignment, why argue with Him the facts of your life, and trust and obey the One that will be with you and see the unfolding of His power in your life.