In my daily Bible reading the other day I was reading the story of Gideon in the book of Judges. And I saw something fascinating. Just as a reminder – this story details the suffering that the Midianites were inflicting on Israel as a punishment from God for their unfaithfulness. The occupying army stripped the land of food – they took all the livestock and destroyed the crops. Whenever the Israelites could grow and harvest modest amounts of food, they worked hard to keep their harvest a secret from the Midianites.
In the 6th chapter we find a man named Gideon. He describes himself as the least member of the weakest clan in his tribe. (How is that for a self-image?) Gideon is hiding in the bottom of a winepress, threshing a little wheat so Midianites could not see him.
Here comes the fascinating part. In verses 11-12 an angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, “Mighty Hero, the Lord is with you.” Then in verse 14, the angel tells him to “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”
I’m sure Gideon looked around to see who the angel was addressing. When he looked at himself, he just saw a coward – a nobody – who was hiding from the enemy. He is pretty honest about his current situation. He reminds the angel of his status within his family and asks how he can possibly do what God expects of him.
But when God looks at us, He doesn’t see who we ARE. He sees who He can make us to be! God saw Gideon as a mighty warrior he could use to rescue His people.
The thing that transformed Gideon from a coward into that mighty warrior was simple. The Lord said to him, “I will be with you.”
God is saying the same thing to us today – both as individuals and as a church.
Let me ask you, when you look at Fee Fee Baptist Church, what do you see? Do you see a church simply trying to hold on through a time of leadership transition? OR do you see a church empowered by the Spirit of God to do mighty things in this community and region. The difference is realizing that God is with us. This is HIS church, and He promises that He will build HIS church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
So, let me challenge you to see Fee Fee Baptist Church from God’s perspective and be encouraged. God says, “I am with you!” And that is more than enough.