Who's Laughing

Judges 6:14-17

The Lord turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?""Pardon me, my lord," Gideon replied, "but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."

God promised his deliverance and his presence as he sent his servant Gideon in his lack filling him with himself. The Lord worked it out so Gideon was as one man between God and his people. Notice the Holy Spirit's power. When you try to hide, the Lord finds you. Gideon was hiding from adverse circumstances, persecution, and even from God's people. The Lord, who sees all things, saw a heart turned towards him; he called a man who was not valorous nor courageous to deliver a nation. Yet he called Gideon as though he was. His lack became God's sufficiency. His powerlessness was God's opportunity. Here at the threshing floor he met the God who turned all things around. God's answer to why is not an explanation but rather a presence answered by the word who. The presence of God became the answer to the questions. When you know God, he never owes an explanation but rather promises an overcoming.

The Lord answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive." Gideon replied, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.

Note that the man who was made by the Creator knew him without being told. Even though the Lord identifies himself as an "angel," as he sometimes did, this may still be code for the Lord himself. Does not God have a sense of humor. How funny it is that Gideon and God are talking about himself in the third person as though the Almighty is not even present. Gideon probably thought he would now die since he had seen the angel of the Lord. If Exodus 33:20 is correct in asserting that "no man can see God and live," then Gideon most certainly saw the Lord nor did he live for the old Gideon was not to be found. The old Gideon who hid, who asked why, and was the lowest of the low was no more. After his encounter with God, he became a leader, one with God, a vessel for his Spirit, unafraid, and consumed with his power. Note that the presence of the Lord gives stability. God did not let Gideon go nuts over an idea, a vision, or experience. God did not allow Gideon to change his name, gender identity, or anything else but to carry out the assigned task to deliver his people. Hysteria and confusion are not of God. He is a God of order. He is a God of peace and deliverance. He did not allow the lies spoken over Gideon's life to prosper. Generational curses of smallness had to bow before his presence. This day God visited to reverse the story and to redeem a nation, a family, and a life so that the old Gideon no longer lived but unto God.