Embracing Fear: The Tale of Gideon
Gid was afraid. Never in his entire life had he been as fearful as he was in that moment. He never took chances, always deferring to others, following, and never leading. He came from the wrong part of town, and never expected to amount to much. No one in his family excelled. They were all failures, and the only thing Gid excelled in…was becoming the greatest failure of them all.
Then the war came, and forced Gid and his family to leave their home and camp out on the side of a mountain, leaving everything behind. Faced with the possibility of his small family starving to death, Gid was forced to confront his fears and take action. So he gathered what wheat he could find, and hiding in an old empty wine press, he threshed his own wheat, hoping for enough to feed his family.
Suddenly, from nowhere, a man appeared. Addressing Gid, he greeted him – calling him a mighty military man. Looking around, Gid thought surely there must be someone else nearby who the stranger was addressing. But walking closer to Gid, the man insisted that he was the man. “Good morning Mighty Warrior. God is with you.”
Confused and disbelieving, Gideon argued with the man, telling him he was a nobody, that his entire family were nobodies. They weren’t special. They were the hiders, the rejects, the least of the least, the smallest of the small. But the man wouldn’t back down. He insisted Gideon was the man and then told him to gather an army and prepare for war.
So, despite his own fear, Gid gathered an army. Unfortunately, God told Gideon he had too many soldiers in his army and to send everyone who was afraid to go home. Only the brave could stay, God said. That is the brave and one fearful man. Twenty-two thousand fearful men went home.
Cutting down Gideon’s army even more, God declared the army was ready to fight. Then he addressed Gideon’s fears. “If you are still afraid, Gideon. Go down to the enemy’s camp and hear what they are saying about you.”
So, because Gideon was afraid, he and a buddy snuck into the enemy’s camp. Eavesdropping just outside one of a soldier’s tent, he heard a man recounting to his friend a nightmare he had just had. His friend interpreted the dream, saying, “Your dream foretells of our defeat at the hand of Gideon.” (Judges 6-8) Amazing! The enemy recognized Gideon’s strength more than he did.
1 John 4:4
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. ESV
We are living in precarious times. It seems every country in the world is facing financial issues. Wars, political instability, civil unrest, sickness, drug abuse, and poverty are happening around the world. Inflation is constantly on everyone’s mind every time they go to buy food, goods, or gasoline for their cars – and people are afraid. Maybe you are afraid.
Like Gideon, God is speaking to us, calling us out of our fear, and preparing us for action. He calls us mighty, and addresses us by our abilities and not by our failures or disabilities. The devil is attacking the world and God is calling out his Gideons. Don’t look at your fear as a disability, but realize that your fear brings you to total dependence on God and that makes you more than capable. You are a mighty warrior.
The place of battle looks different for everyone. Some are called to prayer, public debate, evangelism, finances, and service. Some fight for their health or their family’s salvation, while others fight against principalities and powers set up over nations, political powers, and ideologies. As we go into battle, believing in God’s Word, using the name of Jesus, speaking to the surrounding storms, demons will raise their ugly heads and try to stop us, but we are unstoppable. We are not defeated. Jesus is the name above every name. (Philippians 2:9)
He defeated all the works of darkness when he hung on the cross. He died and rose again and lives in each one who believes in him. If that is you…Greetings Mighty Warrior!
2Timothy 1:7
…for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. ESV
2 Corinthians 10:3-6
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh (for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds), casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ; and being in readiness to avenge all disobedience, when your obedience shall be made full. ASV