“Then the Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!’
‘But Lord,’ Gideon replied, ‘how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!’
The Lord said to him, ‘I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.’ Judges 6:14-16, NLT
Gideon: Note from the Africa Study Bible
The Israelites needed help. Because they had done evil, God handed them over to their enemy, the Midianites. The Midianites were so numerous and so relentless that they robbed Israel of its food and ruined their crops. The Israelite army that had previously been victorious over its enemies was now hiding in mountains and caves.
Then the Israelites cried out to God. His response to the distress of his people was to use the least significant person in the smallest clan of Manasseh to deliver them—Gideon. Gideon thought he was the lowliest of a lowly people, but God called him a “mighty hero.” God did not tell Gideon to seek help from Israel’s generals and strong men. Instead, God told him to use the strength he had (Judges 6:14). And God promised to be with him.
Do you need help? Do you think you are too weak to fight the battles you are facing? When we are weak and crushed by the enemy like the Israelites were, we must cry out to God for help. We should trust and depend on God just like Gideon did. God’s help is what we need. His power works best when we admit we are weak. When we recognize our weakness, we can find strength in God (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
