Gideon

When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior." "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." The 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?" "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." The Lord answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive."
" - Judges 6:12-16 NIV

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Devotion

Gideon had a low opinion of himself and his clan. His assumption was that if someone was to save Israel out of Midian's hand, then it must be someone of greater status than him and from a stronger clan than his. It never occurred to him that God may have selected him for the task precisely because of his low status and weak clan.

God, however, seems to specialize in selecting what is low and of no account for the accomplishment of His purposes. He selected the Israelites as His chosen people not because they were numerous, but because they were few (Deuteronomy 7:7). He chose David to be King of Israel even though he was the youngest son in his family (I Samuel 16:1-13). The Apostles Peter and John were "unschooled, ordinary men" (Acts 4:13). Many more examples could be added to the list.

The reason why God so often chooses what is low and of no account is so that the chosen will be more reliant on Him and through that reliance His glory will be magnified. God often chooses the foolish, weak, lowly, the despised, and the things that are not so that no one may boast before Him (I Corinthians 1:26-29). If God were to exclusively choose those who are high and mighty, then they might be tempted to boast of their own abilities and take credit for any successes.

If you are confronted today with a calling that seems beyond your status and abilities, then consider Gideon. It is God who makes us able, not we ourselves. Indeed, God declared Gideon to be a "mighty warrior" before he ever accomplished anything.

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