Today's Readings - Judges 6-8, Luke 9:46-62, Psalm 46:1–4, Proverbs 10:27-28
Devotional
My dad used to talk about the "divine videotapes" - speculating that in heaven we could watch replays of historical events. If that is so (I expect it isn't) I'd love to watch Gideon's face as the events around Judges 6:12 unfold. Gideon was threshing grain in the winepress, keeping his head down. The most unlikely of heroes, he the insignificant son of an insignificant family in the large, but largely insignificant tribe of Manasseh – he was not voted “Most Likely to Deliver Israel” during his high school years.
Yet, God used him. God appeared to him and defined him not by his past or even by his present, but by what God was planning to make of him. “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” Mighty warrior? There was no evidence that this was true in Gideon’s life to this point. But God tapped him on the shoulder and called him to his service, and made the promise that changes everything. “I will be with you.” With that simple promise, God sent Moses into Egypt, Joshua against Jericho and now Gideon against the mighty Midianites. None of these men had the resources or strength to fight the battles they were called to engage. Each one knew and reminded God of his inadequacy. But God never let that be an issue. It was not about Moses’ strength, but God’s. Joshua did not face Jericho in his own power. And Gideon did not have to fight Midian with his own abilities. “I will be with you.”
A servant of God doing the work of God can depend on the powerful presence of God to accomplish the work God has assigned. Accomplishing God's work never depends on our resources or our abilities but on God's power, his plans, and purposes.
God has assigned me many difficult tasks. The biggest of all of them is gaining control over my own flesh by walking in the power of the Spirit. I have to resist the work of the Enemy. I have ministry responsibilities and challenges. So do you. Each of us faces tasks that can tend to overwhelm us.
God comes to us as he came to Gideon. It is not about my abilities or yours, our talents, or our self-image. It is about what God says we are. God deals with us not on the basis of our own resources but on the basis of what he is desiring to do in and through us.
As we go forward we have the same promise that God gave Gideon. "I am with you." We are not on our own here. As we become what God has determined that we will be we can rest and rely on his presence and power among us. It is not up to my ability or willpower, but the grace and power of God. He is able when I am not.
Father, I praise you for your power and thank you that you empower everything you command. I am weak, but you are strong. I fail, but you succeed. May I rely on you and your strength rather than my own abilities.
Think and Pray
When you think of what you can do, what God has called you to do, do you base that on your abilities and resources, or on the mighty power of God?
Remember that when you are doing God's work and walking in the power of God, he has promised his presence to go with you.
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