God's Surprising Choice for an Unlikely Leader

     Imagine for a moment that you have an ordinary job, maybe lowest on the totem pole, in an ordinary business, and don’t have a great salary.  You don’t know any influential people and you are a member of a small church. On what began as an ordinary day, an angel visits you with a message from God. Your life becomes extraordinary in a matter of days because the angel gives you an assignment.

      You are at once shocked and overwhelmed. The task is far out of reach for you circumstantially. Your interactions with the Lord are first to question, resist and then test Him. Eventually, you give in to the Lord knowing what He’s asked you to carry out is authentic. He assures you that He will stand beside and advise you each moment with the right strategies.

      The result is success! You listened, you implemented the strategy, and God’s will through you is carried out.

     You have just read the story of Gideon as recounted in Judges 6: 11-12. Here’s how it unfolded: "And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor." Gideon belonged to the tribe of Manasseh, not well known like the tribe of Judah. 

Gideon and his men making a racket

     Gideon responded to the angel, “Our family is poor and I’m the least important in it.” He basically said, “Me? You can’t be serious!” Gideon finally assented not knowing how in the world he would defeat the powerful Midianites which is what God asked him to do.
     The Midianites ruled over Israel at that time. The Lord gave Gideon some counterintuitive strategies. Instead of thousands of soldiers to defeat the enemy, God pared the number down to 300 men. Instead of classic weaponry, God instructed Gideon to arm the men with torches and shofars. They won because they listened to God and did it His way.
     I’ve gleaned some important lessons from our biblical friend Gideon. Even though he was fearful already-hiding from the enemy when the angel appeared-he finally gave in and obeyed. I identify with Gideon’s resistance and arguing with the Lord even when Gideon laid out two different fleeces for confirmation.
     I’ve experienced moments in life where I felt stubborn or ill-equipped for a task. I felt like God was asking me to climb Mt. Everest and I’m no mountain climber! Yet knowing God was on the mountain so to speak, I ventured out one step at a time. Reaching the summit of the task, I found myself overwhelmed with gratitude and humility that God allowed me to be a small part of something He wanted to accomplish.
     What task is God asking you to carry out? Are you full of doubts? Lean on Him, consult with Him on His strategies and you will gain the ground He wants you to take. If God is challenging you to step out of your comfort zone and you know with certainty that He is in it, go for it. It’s easy to doubt ourselves but trusting in a doubt-dispelling Lord is a winning solution! 
     God saw valor in the insecure Gideon and mentored him into courage.  God will do the same for us!