Are you a “glass half full” or a “glass half empty” type of person? There are many people who tend to see the glass as half empty, looking at the world in a more negative and pessimistic way. Perhaps they have been dealt some rather bad cards so many times in life, that is all they can see. In our Scripture today we read about a time in Gideon’s life when he continually saw the glass as half empty due to some very challenging times in his and the nation’s life.
All throughout the Book of Judges we read of the people of Israel’s sin, and how they went their own way rather than obey God. Thus, the Lord repeatedly allowed their enemies to rule over them. When the account of Gideon opens the people are under the rule of the Midianites, whose treatment of them was quite harsh. Among many other strict restrictions that the Midianites required the Jewish people to live under, one was in controlling and overseeing their food. The people were not allowed to freely thresh their wheat and other grain crops. Threshing was a process of separating the good kernel of grain from the outer husk or shell, called chaff. This was usually done in a large, open area, where the breeze could blow the chaff away. Because of their disobedience to Yahweh, and following after false gods, the Israelites were hard put to even feed themselves, much less enjoy prosperity. Following after sin in your life will take you further than you want to go, and cost you more than you can afford to pay.
As our passage opens, Gideon was secretly threshing some wheat in a winepress, a small enclosed area, making it more difficult, but also keeping it secret from the Midianites. This would mean a little bit more food for his family. It was here that the Lord appeared to Gideon, where he received his calling to serve Him, lead the people back to worshiping the Lord, and defeat their enemies (vs. 11-12). The Lord addressed Gideon, calling him a “mighty man of valor”, in other words, a brave, courageous, and fearless man. Gideon did not see himself in this way, and probably not many others did, either. Here he was, rather than openly defying the Midianites, he was doing the threshing in secret.
Gideon's response back to God was very negative, discouraged, and defeated (vs. 13). He felt that the Lord didn’t care for him or his people any longer because of their current circumstances. Gideon, though, didn’t want to admit that the nation and people had brought this upon themselves by their sins. He overlooked personal accountability, and blamed it all on God. How often do we do that in our own lives? Rather than taking stock of sin in our own life, do we instead get angry at God, blame Him, and shake our fist towards heaven?
Despite the people’s sins, though, God had not abandoned them, and when the storms of life bombard us, He has not abandoned us, either. The storms may be to try and test us, or may even be sent as discipline, but God will never abandon us (Deuteronomy 31:6, 8).
God saw Gideon as a valiant warrior because He knew what He was going to accomplish through him. Gideon saw himself as weak and little (vs. 14-16), because his focus was on his circumstances, rather than on the Lord. He saw only his limitations and weaknesses. He failed to see how God could work through him. When we believe God, and depend upon Him to empower us, we become who He says we are. God promises us all we need in order to do His work.
The Lord reminded Gideon that he didn’t have to rely on his own might, but on God’s. We don’t have to be strong in ourselves because we have God as our strength. Later in the Book of Judges, when Gideon trusted the Lord, he led an army of only 300 men, and through God's power defeated an army of over 100,000. When we are united with God, success naturally will follow.
As we go about our day today, remember that if we have accepted Jesus as our Savior, we are God’s child. We are who He says we are. Go out victoriously today, for the Lord is with you, O mighty one of valor!
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