Go with the Strength You Have: Gideon's Call

Introduction

There are mornings when you get up feeling like you're surviving more than living. You do what you can with what you have, you hide a little, you tell yourself things will get better later. Adrien takes us into the book of Judges, to a man living exactly that reality: Gideon. A guy who was threshing his wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide it from his enemies, and to whom God says two things that cut sharply against his situation: "mighty warrior" and "go with the strength you have." This message is a call for you if you're in survival mode, if you feel like your faith is stalling, or if you're still waiting to see the fulfillment of a call God gave you a long time ago.

Message Outline

1. Placing Gideon in the Bigger Story

• God is writing a story from beginning to end, and it's always good to know where we fit into it.
• Creation, the fall of Adam and Eve, the promise to Abraham, the exodus from Egypt with Moses, entry into the promised land with Joshua.
• The people do not fully drive out the idolatrous nations and start worshipping other gods.
• The book of Judges describes a cycle: the people wander, they cry out to God, God raises up a leader, things get better, then when the leader dies the people fall even lower (Judges 2:16-19).
• It's sometimes discouraging, but above all it speaks of the goodness of a God who tirelessly returns to his people.

2. A Generation That Did Not Know the LORD

• "A new generation grew up who did not know the LORD or the works he had done for Israel" (Judges 2:10).
• Yesterday's faith is insufficient for today's call.
• The car image: you can siphon a bit from the tank of those who came before you (parents, mentors, testimonies), but at some point you have to fill your own tank.
• You need to know God personally and see for yourself what God can do. Both: intimacy and the miracles.

3. God Speaks to a Man in Survival Mode

• Judges 6:11-12: Gideon threshes wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.
• Threshing and winnowing require wind; doing them in a basement is doing an inefficient activity.
• The people have been under oppression for 7 years, their harvests are stolen, they live hidden in caves.
• Gideon is in survival mode: it's not sin, but it's not growth either.
• When you're in survival mode, your field of vision shrinks: you only see what you need to get through today, you lose the big picture.
• Get ready for God to break into your survival and call you to something else.

4. "Mighty Warrior" : How God Sees You

• "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior" (Judges 6:12), a word that completely cuts against the situation.
• God chooses someone who, in the world's eyes, does not appear to be the ideal person (1 Corinthians 1:27).
• It's not about pitting talent against incompetence: God sometimes chooses very gifted people, sometimes people who shine less, it is he who receives the glory in both cases.
• "Mighty warrior" is a prophetic vision of what Gideon was going to become.
• Practical application: how do you look at others? At work, in the family, at church, try to see what people are going to become rather than freezing them in their current state.

5. The "Whys" and God's Only Answer: Go

• Judges 6:13: "If the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about?"
• These are questions we all carry: if God is good, why the wars, why do I feel like I'm just surviving, why am I struggling at work, in my relationships?
• There is a time to seek answers, and there is a time when we won't have any.
• Judges 6:14: "Go with the strength you have and save Israel." God's answer, often, is not an explanation, it's a call to move.
• Good news: if you carry these questions in your heart, you might be part of the answer. What Gideon was asking about (the calamities, the wonders), he was about to live it himself.

6. Comparison, a Weapon of Mass Destruction

• Judges 6:15: "My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."
• Gideon worries about resources, feels illegitimate because of his social standing, focuses on his shortcomings.
• Same refrain with other called ones: Moses ("Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh? Send someone else"), Jeremiah ("I do not know how to speak, I am only a child"), Peter ("Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man").
• Two forms of comparison:
  • Comparing "downward" to reassure yourself ("well, at least I'm better than...").
  • Comparing "upward" by setting up idealized role models, without knowing what's really behind the scenes.
• In both cases, comparison shrinks you. God, for his part, sees something else when he looks at you.

7. "I Will Be With You" : The Power of the One Who Sends

• Judges 6:16: "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive."
• God's answer is not "you are especially strong," but "I will be with you." It is the power of the One who sends that makes the difference.
• Echo in Matthew 28:20: "I am with you always, to the end of the age."

8. The Sign of the Offering and the Angel of the LORD

• Before the fleece, Gideon asks for a first sign (Judges 6:17-21): he prepares an offering of flour and meat, sets it on a rock, the angel touches it with his staff and it is consumed.
• It's not "do I really have to go or not?", it's "are you really God, you who are entrusting me with this mission?"
• Gideon is so focused on his problems and shortcomings that it takes him time to realize that the one speaking to him is God himself.
• One can think that the angel of the LORD is Jesus before his incarnation. John 8:58: "Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I am!" In our text, in fact, in verses 14 and 16, it no longer says "the angel of the LORD" but simply "the LORD."

Key Takeaways

• You cannot stay in survival mode forever: it's not sin, but it's not growth either.
• Yesterday's faith is insufficient for today's call: at some point, you have to fill your own tank.
• God sees what you are going to become, not only what you are today.
• God's answer to the "whys" is often "go." If you carry the question, you might be part of the answer.
• Comparison shrinks you. The promise "I will be with you" sets you free.

Personal Application

• Where are you today in survival mode? For how long? How has your field of vision shrunk without you realizing it?
• Is your current faith still essentially that of your parents, your pastor, your mentors, or has it truly become your own?
• What call from God have you been carrying for a long time without yet seeing it fulfilled (ministry, project, marriage, commitment)? How might God refresh that call today?
• To whom, this week, can you speak a word about what they are going to become, rather than freezing them in their current state?
• Who are you comparing yourself to right now? Downward to reassure yourself, or upward to disqualify yourself? How can you get out of this comparison?

Verses Cited

• Judges 2:10 · "A new generation grew up who did not know the LORD"
• Judges 2:16-19 · the cycle of the Judges
• Judges 6:11-24 · the calling of Gideon
• 1 Corinthians 1:27 · "God chose the weak things"
• Matthew 28:20 · "I am with you always"
• John 8:58 · "Before Abraham was, I am"

Further reading

• 50 Social Media Post Ideas for a Church
• Welcoming Newcomers to a Church: The Complete Guide
• How to Help a Shy Person Fit In

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "go with the strength you have" mean?

This is the word the LORD speaks to Gideon in Judges 6:14. God does not ask Gideon to wait until he has more resources, more status, or more courage. He sends him as he is, with what he already has, promising his presence ("I will be with you"). It is a call to move rather than to further preparation.

How do I know if I'm in spiritual "survival mode"?

Adrien describes survival mode as the moment when your field of vision shrinks to what is useful today: you no longer see the big picture, you only do the strict minimum, you hide a little. It is not sin, but it is not growth. If you recognize yourself in this for a long time, get ready for God to break in and call you to something else.

Why does Gideon ask God for a sign?

In this first exchange, Gideon does not ask "do I really have to go?" but "are you really God, you who are speaking to me?" He does not immediately realize that the angel of the LORD is God himself: he is too focused on his own shortcomings. The sign of the consumed offering (Judges 6:21) opens his eyes before the better-known episode of the fleece.