Mighty Man?

Judges 6:12 – And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!”

As I ponder the events of the past few months (years), my mind is drawn to Gideon.  When God called him, he told him not to fear.  He called Gideon a mighty man.  But in Gideon’s mind he was anything but.  He was in his own mind weak – the least of all the men in Israel.  Yet God called Gideon to deliver his people.  After God called Gideon, He took him through a series of seeming “setbacks” before the promise was realized.  But first, God made sure to reassure Gideon that He would be with him.  Two times God reduced the size of his army – making victory in the natural even more unlikely.  But this was God’s leading and guiding to increase the glory of the testimony He was building in and through Gideon.  (Remember, the steps of a righteous man are ordered of God.)

Now here is the thing:  The enemy comes against God’s people.  The people cry out to God to be delivered from the enemy.  But God has a different plan.  He wants to deliver the enemy into your hand.  When the enemy is delivered to you – you are in turn delivered from him.  God is after delivering the enemy and his spoils to you, not merely in delivering you from the hand of the enemy.  If I am righteous as God’s word says, then my steps have been ordered by Him.  It is Him who has led me to this place.  And if God has led me here – He has gone before me to prepare the way.  He is with me now, and stands as my rear guard.  He said He would put provision on the way.  Just like he did for Gideon.  Yet, many times God’s provision looks like the removal of provision.  Let me say that again.  Many times the provision of God looks like the removal of provision in the natural.  He led Gideon to reduce his natural help.  To make the battle even more impossible to win in the natural.  This is often times the case with us.  Yet as I look back to before I started into this battle, I remember God’s promise of victory (again and again).  Why would I fear?  Yet Gideon was afraid, and the Lord had compassion on him.  He reassured him in the battle, even allowing him to see/hear the enemy’s fear of him through their prophetic dream that Gideon would be the victory.  God took Gideon through a series of small battles (with fear) before he got to the major battle.

When an enemy comes against God’s chosen ones, God responds by delivering that enemy into the hands of His people.  God goes after those who go after His own.  When they bring a weapon against His elect (which they will), He has declared that NO WEAPON formed against you shall prosper or prevail.  The enemy in this battle has been clearly defined.  It is the fear, doubt, and negativity that is in our own minds.  God not only wants to deliver me from fear, but he wants to deliver fear to me.  That through this victory, I would have authority over fear wherever and whenever we should meet.