Go in This Strength of Yours

I will return later to this series we are busy with. The Lord gave me a few Golden Nuggets I would like to place first.

I would like to share an interesting revelation with you.

Gideon was threshing out some wheat in the winepress. He was dead scared of the Midianites when Jesus, called the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament, visited him. You can read his history in Judges 6-8.

Throughout this passage it is clear that Gideon found it equally easy to panic and believe. When he had an encounter with the Lord, faith came easily, but when his bad self image and lack of confidence got the better of him, despair stepped in just as easily.

When Jesus appeared to him He greeted Gideon with the words: "The LORD is with you O mighty man of valour," (Judges 6:12). The Lord should have known Gideon's personality, which was characterized by fear, insecurity and lack of self-confidence. Why would He have greeted him this way?

A few verses later He ordered Gideon in verse 14: "Go in this might (or strength) of yours and save Israel from the hands of Midian; do I not send you?"

Many scholars take it that Jesus spoke faith over Gideon when He uttered the latter, in other words proclaiming Gideon's potential and what he was like at the time.

Usually it is a good idea to motivate people this way, especially those with lots of confidence. You tend to get results. But those suffering with a lack of confidence are not so easily fooled. They find it difficult to get past the barrier which was erected by a lack of faith in themselves. They need sufficient evidence that they are actually able to do it. If you have experienced this before, you will understand it. Therefore, even though the Lord believed in him, Gideon still had himself to encounter. You will find much evidence of it in this passage.

We said earlier that Gideon easily panicked and got into despair, but equally easily acted in faith after an encounter with the Lord.

I have mentioned two significant phrases the Lord had said to Gideon, which actually became quite famous throughout the ages and have been used in many messages. I believe they relate respectively to each of these two characteristics that Gideon displayed.

Firstly, when the Lord told Gideon to "go in this might of yours" He meant the strength and courage Gideon had at the time, which was not much. It is not easy for anybody to, in your own strength, be more than you are.

Gideon also proved this fact by immediately acting within character. He said in verse fifteen: “So he said to Him, ‘O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.’” This is exactly the position the Lord wanted him in, for then the glory would be His and not Gideon's, which is why He comforted Gideon with the words: "The LORD is with you" (verse 12), "do I not send you" (verse 14) and "I will be with you" (verse 16).

It is of no use you try to pump up your self-confidence in order to become something you are not. It is better to step out saying: "I cannot do it, but God can do it through me." Then we go in the strength we have and the Lord does the part we cannot do.

Secondly, why did Jesus call Gideon a mighty man of valour? He did know Gideon's fearful personality, did He not?

If you display faith in the Lord God and through that please Him (make Him happy), He releases to you a lot of strength and power. "The joy of the Lord (in other words Him being happy) is my strength," (Nehemiah 8:10), and "without faith it is impossible to please God," (Hebrews 11:6).

The Lord knew Gideon's ability to easily trust Him, believe Him, and rely on Him. These virtues made Gideon mighty and powerful, not because of him, but because the Lord was to be with him. God's joy, as a result of Gideon's faith and obedience, released His might and power to Gideon.

How about you? In what manner is the Lord pleased by your faith and obedience? Paul mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12:9: “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” Gideon went out in the little strength he had, trusting the Lord, and had the privilege to see the Lord's power on display.

Which weakness currently stands in your way to step out in service to the King of kings?

Simply go out in the little strength you have available, and God's almighty power will be made perfect in it.

Jesus said that if you have faith as small as a mustard seed you will do mighty things; “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20). That is all you need. The reason why many Christians accomplish very little is because they do not even have that amount of faith.

All you need is to start doing what you know God expects of you, even if it is with a throbbing heart, shaky legs, and breath that gets stuck in your throat when you try to speak. Believe me, that is probably how Gideon felt. As you start seeing the Lord's faithfulness and power in action, your boldness and faith will grow, until it is as big in comparison to your initial faith as a mustard tree is in comparison to the seed it came from.

The result - God's Kingdom and your heavenly treasure will prosper.

Lord, give me the courage to go out in the little strength I have and make you happy by acting in faith.