THE STRENGTH YOU HAVE

By: Dennis Harworth

One of my favorite accounts in the Bible is the one about Gideon in the sixth and seventh chapter in the Book of Judges. Let me share with you a nugget I have learned about strength.

Gideon was a young man living in Israel that had been oppressed for seven years by marauding Midianites.   They were frequently coming in “as thick as locusts” trying to starve the Israelites by destroying crops, and taking all the sheep, oxen, and donkeys.  We find Gideon threshing wheat in a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites.  Threshing was the process that separated wheat grains from the lighter chaff, usually done on windy hills or an open space so the breeze could carry the chaff away.  But with raiders in the area and in order to prevent from being an easy target, Gideon had to thresh his wheat in a winepress – an unlikely, concealed spot to avoid detection.  

In that moment, the Lord appeared to him with an amazing statement: “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!”  I can just see Gideon with a shocked look on his face and saying, “Are you kidding me?” (Judges 6:12).  Without even a response, the Lord then gives Gideon a surprising command: “Go in the strength you have and rescue Israel.”  (Judges 6:14 NLT).  Gideon didn’t feel strong. In fact, he felt anything but capable.  Yet God was not asking him to muster superhuman power—just to trust and act with the strength he had.  The Lord assured Gideon that the strength he needed to overcome his enemies would come from the Lord Himself.  Yet even with these clear promises, Gideon hesitated.  Focused on his own weaknesses and inadequacies, he struggled to believe that God could truly use him.

We often do the same. God calls each of us to serve Him in unique and specific ways and He promises to equip us with everything we need.  But instead of trusting that, we list our shortcomings, offering excuses for why we can't do what He's asking.  When we do that, we’re essentially suggesting that God does not fully understand who we are—or worse, that He made a mistake in choosing us.

So, here is the great nugget that gave me a whole new perspective.  When God called Gideon a “mighty man of valor”, that made him so!  God was not kidding or being sarcastic.  What God says will not return void, but will accomplish what He pleases, and will prosper in the thing for which He sends it. (Isaiah 55:11).  But wait, there’s more!  It gets even better!  The Hebrew word for “valor” is chayil.  This word means more than just courage.  According to the Hebrew Lexicon the main meanings are strength, army, and wealth.  Gideon could go in the strength he had because it was God’s strength spoken into him.  Another interesting note is Gideon was a powerful army and would defeat the Midianite army of 135,000 “as if you were fighting against one man.” (verse 16).

Read Judges 7 to see how a reduced force of only 300 men won a miraculous victory.  It was the divine plan that caused the Midianites to turn on each other with their swords while Gideon and his men watched in safety around the camp.

Take this to heart and know that the Lord God is your strength and your salvation.  He equips you with exactly what you need to fulfill His plan and His purpose.  God does not expect you to do the impossible on your own—He provides the strength you need.  When you obey, He supplies the power and gives you the victory. Therefore, be greatly encouraged and move forward with confidence with the STRENGTH YOU HAVE.