“The angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites. Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “The Lord is with you, valiant warrior.”
Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened? And where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about? They said, ‘Hasn’t the Lord brought us out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.”
The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the grasp of Midian. I am sending you!”
He said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s family.”
“But I will be with you,” the Lord said to him. “You will strike Midian down as if it were one man.””
Judges 6:11-16 CSB
Have you ever felt like Gideon? Hiding. Overwhelmed. Questioning why life is so hard and where God is in the middle of it. Maybe you’ve felt too weak, too insignificant, too underqualified for the battle in front of you.
But did you notice what God says to Gideon? He doesn’t give him a pep talk about his potential or dismiss his doubts. Instead, God calls him a valiant warrior — not because of his own strength but because of this one truth:
“The Lord is with you.”
That changes everything.
You don’t have to be strong enough, brave enough, or wise enough. Whatever you’re facing today, God’s presence is greater than your insecurity, bigger than your obstacles, and mightier than your fear.
So go in the strength you have. It may not feel like much, but it’s enough — because He is with you. And that’s what makes you a warrior.
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I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me because He’s with me.
Amen! By God’s strength I can face all challenges!
Thank you for sharing this! Tomorrow at my job (I do customer service over the phone) we have to start reading a long script to customers over the phone. I sometimes get very nervous reading out loud. I have struggled with panic attacks in my past and once in awhile, I can start feeling a panic attack coming on. And one thing that can trigger it is “reading out loud”. Your devotional reminds me that God is with me and He will be with me each time I have to read a long script to a customer. I may not feel strong enough on my own, but with God’s strength, He will help me do what I need to do. 🙂
I don’t like reading outloud either Amber. I will be praying for you! I loved this article. God is with you!
Thank you for this very true situation that I stand in right now. I am all the things you said in your devotional from hiding to feeling too weak to take on these serious problems that I am facing. I have prayed so often, but I don’t seem to understand or even here what God is telling me. Usually I can solve the problems, but this is different. There are at least 5 serious things that are ahead of me. My strength is not to strong right now and I am going through PT. I am 77 years old and things get more difficult the older I get. I could day so much more, but I need to go to church. Thank you for your words. I appreciate them. I hope you have a Blessed week that is coming up…………………Betsy Basile