I Will Be With You

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

IT WAS A DESPERATE SITUATION. For seven years terrorists from Midian had been regularly attacking the Israelites, taking all of their livestock and destroying all of their crops, leaving them to starve. The Israelites had left their cities in fear and hidden in caves with their families. Finally, they cried out to the Lord for help. And the Lord appointed a rescuer —a reluctant rescuer.

Gideon was well aware of his own inadequacy. But interestingly, when he told the Lord that he wasn’t up to the job, the angel didn’t try to assure Gideon that he was, in fact, adequate. He didn’t assure Gideon of his untapped potential or encourage him to find the strength inside himself. Instead of pumping up Gideon’s self-confidence, he infused Gideon’s dangerous reality with confidence from God. “I will be with you,” the Lord promised him.

We’ve heard Yahweh say this before to unwilling or hesitant servants. To Moses when he didn’t want to face Pharaoh, God said, “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12). To Joshua as he faced all of the cities inhabited by Canaanites, God said, “I will be with you as I was with Moses” (Joshua 1:5).

Perhaps we’ve discounted it. But the truth is, we can face really hard circumstances with this promise. Our children can face a new school, an overwhelming challenge, and untold temptations with this promise. God doesn’t answer all of our questions about the details, but he provides what is essential: the assurance that he will be with us.

Lord, we are sending ________ out into this world where he will have to fight, not against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. We pray that ________ will know that you are with him and that his victory over these enemies does not lie in his own adequacy or abilities, but in your sufficiency and your power put on display in his weakness.