The Lord is with you, mighty man of valor.
An angel's greeting to Gideon — who was hiding in a winepress at the time.
The episode in a glance.
- 01Gideon was the youngest son, from the weakest clan, hiding in fear.
- 02The angel called him 'mighty' before he'd done anything mighty.
- 03God's call often comes before your readiness.
- 04Valor isn't a feeling — it's what you do with God's presence.
Read along.
Judges 6:12 — 'And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, "The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor."' At the time, Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide from the Midianites. He was not feeling mighty.
Gideon was the youngest son of the weakest clan in Manasseh. He had no status, no army, no confidence. And an angel shows up and calls him a mighty man of valor. Not because he'd earned the title. Because God had chosen him.
This is how God works. He calls people before they're ready. He names them before they've proved it. Abraham was an old nomad. Moses was a murderer with a speech impediment. David was a shepherd boy. And Gideon was hiding in a hole.
'The Lord is with you' is the key. Gideon's valor wasn't self-generated. It was borrowed. God was with him. That's what made him mighty. And that's what makes any of us capable of more than our résumé suggests.