Mighty Warrior

Read

Hebrews 11:32-34 "And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies."

Think

I was driving down a back road in Florida with a couple of friends a few years ago. Desolate road, a few houses, not much happening. And I see this guy walking along the side of the road with the most incredible hair I have ever seen. It looked like one of those big golf visors, just a perfect helmet of hair. And I said to my buddies, "That is Coach Jimmy Johnson." The legendary NFL coach. I do not know why, but something came over me. Normally I would keep driving. But I pulled the car over, got out, and walked up to him.

"Coach Johnson," I said, doing the whole fan thing. "I am Ed Young from Dallas." He just sort of looked at me. I started trying to establish some common ground. I mentioned a former player who had attended our church for years, told him I had done the player's wedding, the whole bit. Coach Johnson was backing up like I was contagious. My friend even took a picture, and you can see it on his face: "Who is this nut?" He completely dismissed me. And I walked back to the car feeling about two inches tall.

But here is why I bring it up. One of Jimmy Johnson's most famous coaching moments came when a player told him he could not practice because of his asthma. Coach Johnson pointed to the far end of the field and said, "The asthma field is over there." In other words, your excuses have their own zip code. Go park them somewhere else.

That line is funny, but it cuts. Because I am an excuse maker. I throw up excuses to God like confetti. And when I read about Gideon, I see a man who could have wallpapered his house with excuses.

Hebrews 11:32 names Gideon among the heroes of faith, alongside David and Samuel and the prophets. It says their "weakness was turned to strength." But when you go back to Judges 6 and read Gideon's actual story, you find a man who was anything but heroic at the start. He was hiding. Literally. He was threshing wheat underground in a wine vat so the Midianites would not find him and take his food. This was a man cowering in fear.

And then the angel of the Lord shows up. Judges 6:12: "When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, 'The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.'" Mighty warrior. Bible humor at its finest. This guy was shaking in a hole in the ground, and God called him a mighty warrior. Because God does not see what you see when you look in the mirror. God sees what he put in you before you ever doubted it was there.

Gideon's response was pure excuse-making. Judges 6:15: "Pardon me, my lord, but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family." My family is nothing. I am the least of the nothing. You have got the wrong guy, God.

But God does not shop at the excuse store. Verse 16: "The Lord answered, 'I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.'" God did not argue with the excuse. He just gave the answer. "I will be with you." That is it. That is enough. You plus God is always a majority.

Then comes the math that makes no human sense. Gideon gathered 32,000 men to fight the Midianites, who had 135,000 warriors camped in the valley. Already a bad ratio. But God said, "Too many." He told Gideon to send home anyone who was scared. 22,000 men left. Down to 10,000. Still too many, God said. He sent them to the river to drink, and only 300 men lapped the water the right way. "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands," God told him (Judges 7:7). Three hundred against 135,000. Armed with torches, clay jars, and trumpets. Not swords. Not shields. Torches and jars.

And they won. They won because God's math works differently than ours. God subtracts so that when the victory comes, no one can say, "We did this." The credit belongs to God alone.

I think about the early days of Fellowship Church. We started with about thirty families. After the first year and a half, ninety percent of them left. Gone. I stood there looking at the handful who remained and asked God, "What am I doing?" But looking back, I know it was God who built our church. He subtracted so I could never take the credit. He reduced the army so the victory would be unmistakably his.

Coach Johnson told that player the asthma field was over there. God told Gideon the excuse field was over there too. Your weakness is real. Your inadequacy is real. But God is not asking you to be enough. He is asking you to be available. "I will be with you" is not a pep talk. It is the promise of the Creator of the universe. And the God who can win a battle with 300 men and some clay pots can certainly handle your limitations.

Apply

Park your excuses – Write down the excuse you keep offering God for why you cannot do what he is calling you to do. Then cross it out and write Judges 6:16 next to it: "I will be with you." His presence is the only qualification you need.

Pray

Father, I am full of excuses. I look at my limitations and I tell you that you have got the wrong person. But you saw something in Gideon that Gideon could not see in himself, and I believe you see something in me too. Forgive me for using my weakness as a reason to disobey. I want to be available, even when I do not feel adequate. Subtract whatever needs to go so that you get the glory. In Jesus' name. Amen.