Historical story

You will find Gideon’s story in Judges 6. The Midianites overtook Israel and placed them in bondage. One of the things the Midianites would often do is swoop down on Israel during the harvest season and steal all of the food they had harvested. Aware of the Midianites’ evil tendencies, Gideon hid as he sought to harvest his food.

Suddenly, as Gideon was hiding, an angel of the Lord came to him. Some wonder if this appearance was a theophany - an appearance of Jesus in the Old Testament. The angel of the Lord looked at him and said, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor.” The word valor means courageous. Strong.

Gideon was acting in the opposite of valor when the Lord referred to him as a mighty man of valor. Yet that’s the beauty of this story. God does not look at who someone is, but who they can become. God did not see a coward. He saw a mighty warrior inside of Gideon. He prophesied and Gideon rose up to be exactly that: a mighty man of valor.

Ultimately, Gideon ended up being the one to mobilize the Israelites’ army of 300 (against the Midianite army of 32,000!) and defeat them. Gideon became a renowned judge of Israel, tore down the primary altar of the godless Baal, and is looked at today as a man of valor.

I pray that each of you will learn to see yourself as God sees you. Not the world. Not others. Inside of you there just may be locked up a mighty warrior!

excerpt from Gideon, a Mighty man by David Chadwick