Monday, July 23, 2012

Mighty Men of Valour

So I don't know about you, but many many times I have found myself daydreaming during Bible study group or church.  (Eek! I know! Not good!)  I'm sure, at some point, we have all started thinking about lunch or our list of things to do in the middle of the Sunday sermon.  I'm not talking about that though.  Today, my mind went off on a side road about a portion of scripture we were reading in our Bible study group.  I LOVE it when this happens.  I feel like when this happens, God is taking a portion of His Word and speaking to me privately, almost secretly, just between me and Him.  And the fact that God would point out a specific phrase from His Word and use it to change my heart amazes me.  It amazes me how well He knows me and how much He loves me.  So, anyway, here's how it went down.  I was following along as someone read the scripture (Judges 6) aloud and we got to this text, 

 wGideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And xthe angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, y“The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 


Ok, so you should really read verses 1-11a but I'll give you a little background just in case you don't decide to do so.  The Israelites were pretty much hiding out because every time they tried to plant crops, other nations would come and over power them and take everything they had.  The Bible says they were brought very low and that they cried out to the Lord, not in repentance but because of their circumstances (a lesson for another day!).  God then reminds them of how He has delivered them in the past and of His promises to them.  All the while, they are still unrepentant. Then we pan over to Gideon in verse 11 (above).  He is hiding out threshing wheat and an angel appears to him.  Given that information, I wouldn't describe Gideon as valiant or brave.  He is hiding from the Midianites so they don't take his wheat, and look how God addresses him through this angel.  He calls him a "mighty man of valor"!  Sarcasm? no.  This is the lesson God spoke to my heart this morning.  God called him a might man of valor because He knew what He was going to do with Gideon.  He wasn't giving him a title based on his current condition.  He was giving him a title based on his potential.  This potential was not evident to Gideon himself or others around him and it was not based on his own set of skills or snazzy resume.  Gideon wasn't even seeking this out.  Gideon then goes on to say, "If the Lord was with us, why would all of these bad things be happening to us?".  And the Lord replies,


“Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; bdo not I send you?"


It's like God is completely ignoring his protests!  I love it!  Even after this, Gideon questions God and says, "How can I save Israel?  My tribe is the weakest and I am the least in my family."  By man's standards he was not even on the radar as a candidate to save Israel, but for God's purposes, he was the perfect candidate!  The Lord's next statement puts it all in perspective:


16 And the Lord said to him, e“But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”

The Lord is with us so it doesn't matter who we are or are not!  He will accomplish His will through us.

So after reading this passage, I zoned out for a minute and started thinking about how God called Gideon a mighty man of valor when he was being pretty cowardly.  I also thought ahead through the story to how God's encouragement led to Gideon becoming courageous and valiant after he learned that he could trust God for the outcome.  This got me thinking...I am the wife to an amazing man. As his wife, I have many jobs.  One of those jobs which I consider to be super important is that of cheerleader.  Yes, cheerleader.  I love encouraging my husband.  I have written him little notes and hid them for him to find around the house and cooked special dinners for him.  Those things are very important, but I realized today that there is a lot more to encouraging him than that.  It has to be so much deeper than that.  I need to cheer for my husband the way God cheered for Gideon.  That starts by me seeing him the way that God sees him; as a man whom God is about to use in a mighty way.  Not only do I need to see him that way, I need to treat him that way.  This isn't something that should be centered around one specific goal or circumstance.  God is able to use His children as often as we are willing to be used, so this should be my constant attitude toward my husband.  If I were to make fun of Evan or belittle him, I would be totally undermining the work that God is doing in him as well as feeding him lies that may take his eyes off of God's ability to use him and place them on his own strength.  What if, instead of calling Gideon a "mighty man of valor", God had called him a "cowardly man of weakness" (which, based on his actions, would have been a reasonable description.)?  I believe the outcome would have been completely different.  God encouraged Gideon to be the man He wanted him to be.  How many times am I critical of my husband?  How many times have I had an underlying attitude of contempt for my husband?  Our society and media have lied to us and told us that the men in our lives should be questioned constantly.  They have told us that we should not let our husbands lead us and take care of us.  By encouraging my husband and supporting him in his goals, I can fight this misconception.  Our men are created to be courageous, valiant leaders and as a wife, my attitude toward my husband directly affects his view of himself which, in turn, affects his decisions and actions.  This means my job as my husband's cheerleader is one that I should not take lightly.  I need to call my husband a mighty man of valor in my actions, my attitudes and my words.  I must encourage him to Go in his might and do what God has called him to do.  Wives, I encourage you to go in your might and courageously swim against the stream as you support and encourage your husbands to be the mighty men of valor that God has created them to be.  

I'd love to get input from other women on this!  What are some ways that we can encourage the men in our lives (husbands, sons, fathers, nephews, brothers, etc.) to "go in their
might"?