Thou Mighty Man of Valour

Judges 6: 12 -16And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.  
And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.  
And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father¹s house.  And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.

I just had to snicker when I read the story of Gideon.  I am so much like Gideon!  If I had to paraphrase this, it would go like this:
"The Lord is with you, you mighty woman of valor!"
"But Lord, if you are with me, why has all this trouble come on me and my family?  I read of all Your miracles in the Bible, but now it looks like You have forsaken me."
"Go in this might of yours, and face the troubles you have: have not I sent you?"
"But Lord, I can't face all these things, I don't have the strength to manage all this.  I am too weak.  It's too much for me."
"Surely I will be with you.  You will be able to do what I have asked you because I will give you the strength you need to do it."

Here are some things to consider:
1. God had confidence that Gideon was a mighty man of valor because He would work through him and make him a mighty man of valor.  God will work through you to make you what He wants you to be too.
2. Gideon focused on all his troubles instead of God's past faithfulness and concluded that God had forsaken him.  How often do we do the same thing?
3. God says for you to go in this might of yours and face your trouble because He has sent you and He will be with you.  Your might or strength may be weak, but because God is with you you can face it.  It won't be your strength that shines through but God's.  The weaker we are the better God can use us because then we are depending on Him instead of ourselves.

What Midianites are in your life right now? Illness/Pain? Financial difficulty? Bad relationships?  Death of a loved one?  Illness of a loved one?  Parenting issues?  Home-school difficulties? Fill in the blank.
God will be with you so go in this might of yours...He will give you the strength to face these things!

Dear Father, We so often focus on the difficulties and forget that You are faithful and You will be with us in these battles.  Thank you for this reminder today.  Amen.