GIDEON: When God Calls the Weak

 

When God Calls the Weak

Gideon is not the kind of person we would naturally put on the list of people God might use.

When we meet him in Judges 6, Israel is being oppressed by the Midianites. The Israelites have been pushed into hiding, their crops are being destroyed, and fear has become a way of life.

And where do we find Gideon?

Hiding.

He is threshing wheat in a winepress, trying to keep his harvest hidden from the Midianites.

Then the angel of the Lord appears and says something almost absurd:

“The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
—Judges 6:12

Mighty warrior? Gideon doesn't exactly look like one.

His response makes that clear. He questions God. He points out Israel's suffering. He asks why God has allowed all of this to happen. And when God tells him to go and save Israel, Gideon essentially says, Who, me?

“My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” (Judges 6:15)

In other words: You've got the wrong guy. But God didn't.

God Sees What We Cannot Yet See

One of the things I love about Gideon's story is that God calls him a mighty warrior before Gideon feels like one.

Gideon sees his limitations. God sees his calling.

Gideon sees his family. God sees his future.

Gideon sees the size of the enemy. God sees what He is about to accomplish.

And perhaps that is something we need to remember.

We often assume God calls people because they are already confident, capable, experienced, or impressive. But Scripture repeatedly shows us something different. Moses had excuses. David was the youngest. Jeremiah thought he was too young. Peter was impulsive. Paul had a complicated past. And Gideon was hiding in a winepress.

God has never required perfect confidence before He begins using someone.

God Doesn't Just Use Our Strength

Gideon's story gets even more uncomfortable.

Eventually Gideon gathers an army of 32,000 men. That sounds like a reasonable place to start when you're facing an enormous enemy army. But God says there are too many.

Too many?

God tells Gideon to send home everyone who is afraid. Twenty-two thousand leave. Ten thousand remain.

Still too many.

Eventually, Gideon is left with only 300 men. Three hundred against an army described as being as numerous as locusts. Why would God do that? Because God wanted Israel to understand that the victory belonged to Him.

Sometimes God reduces what we have so that we can see more clearly who we have.

We tend to think our effectiveness depends on having more:

More resources.

More talent.

More people.

More money.

More experience.

More confidence.

But God sometimes works through our inadequacy precisely because our inadequacy forces us to depend upon Him. That doesn't mean we shouldn't prepare, grow, learn, or become excellent at what God has called us to do. It means we don't confuse our preparation with our source. Our strength is useful. But God is the source.

Gideon Still Had Questions

Another thing I appreciate about Gideon is that his faith wasn't perfect. He asked for signs. He questioned. He needed reassurance. And God patiently met him there. That doesn't mean doubt is the goal. Gideon's story doesn't encourage us to remain perpetually hesitant.

But it does remind us that God is not intimidated by our questions. Sometimes we imagine that faith means never being afraid. Gideon's story suggests something different. Faith isn't the absence of fear.

Faith is obedience in the presence of fear.

Gideon was afraid—and he went anyway. He didn't suddenly become fearless. He simply discovered that God's presence was greater than his fear.

What If You're the Person Hiding in the Winepress?

Maybe you don't feel particularly brave right now. Maybe you're looking at what God has placed in front of you and thinking, Surely He doesn't mean me. Maybe you see everything you lack.

Maybe you're comparing yourself with people who seem more gifted, more experienced, more confident, or more qualified.

Maybe you're waiting until you feel ready. Gideon's story gives us a different invitation.

You don't have to feel like a mighty warrior before you obey God.

You just have to be willing to take the next step. God didn't ask Gideon to win the entire battle in one moment. He asked him to tear down an altar.

Then gather an army.

Then reduce the army.

Then go into battle.

One obedient step at a time.

Sometimes that's what faith looks like. Not knowing exactly how everything will work out. Not having every answer. Not feeling particularly courageous.

Just saying, “God, if You are with me, I'll take the next step.”

And sometimes, somewhere between the winepress and the battlefield, we discover that God was right all along. Maybe we aren't as weak as we thought. Or perhaps more accurately—

we were never supposed to be strong enough on our own.

Reflection

Where are you currently feeling inadequate, afraid, or unqualified? What would it look like to trust that God can work through that weakness and take the next obedient step anyway?