13“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
14The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
15“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
16The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”
Thoughts: If you have ever been nervous about standing up for your faith then maybe you can sympathize with Gideon. The Midianites were nomads who raided and destroyed the crops of Israel. The angel appeared to Gideon and told him that God would deliver through him. He was very hesitant. He couldn't figure out the problem with evil and used that as an excuse not to fight evil at first. Then he couldn't figure out why him- he was not influential or powerful. But the lesson of Gideon is that God can use anyone to make a difference for Him. Gideon then put out a fleece as a test twice to confirm his vision. Then Gideon destroyed the altars to other gods and blew the trumpet to assemble Israel. God shrunk the army to only a few hundred to show what He could do with the weak and helpless. The Midianites defeated themselves in the end by God's help. If we feel inadequate we should not give up in our witness for God.
Prayer: Lord, if I am weak, be Thou strong. Use even me to make a difference for you.
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