This might of yours

Judges 6:14 And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?”

God told Gideon to go rebel against the enemy and fight in “this might of yours,” "in this thy might."  He did not say, “Gather yourself together, train, get your supplies, and go.”  Instead, He told Gideon to go in his might.  What kind of “might” did Gideon have?  He was hiding his threshing job in a wine press.  He was timid and afraid, almost of his own shadow.  He was discouraged and disheartened by the oppression of the enemy.  He was from an unknown, just normal, household family.  He was afraid of even his neighbors (see 6:27) much less the powerful enemy.  In other words, Gideon’s “might” was almost nil!  God did not want him to go in any strength or power other than God’s power and strength.  If he trusted in that, Gideon could (and did) succeed.  So he DID go in his might and he DID trust God to add the extra “might” he needed and he DID succeed in defeating the oppressing power of the enemy.  All because he went in “his might.”

Do it afraid

Matthew 28:8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

How can a person be afraid and filled with joy at the same time?  How can you actually do something if you are fearful?  Those women at Jesus’ tomb did these things and I have often wondered at this seemingly impossible thing.  Then I think about two specific times in my life when I was fearful yet filled with joy and I realize this is not really an oxymoron at tall.  The day I boarded my first flight to Lebanon is vivid in my mind.  I felt “scared to death” at my first trip overseas, alone, to live in another country.  But I was filled with joy because I was fulfilling God’ will for me.  And the day I got married was similar … afraid but also excited and happy at the prospect of my marriage.  Both times I was ready to tell anyone who was listening about what I was doing, and that is how the women felt, I am sure.  The fear and joy did not deter them from running to their next responsibility, to tell the disciples, and it may have even motivated them.  So it can be for me as well.  My fear or my joy can both be my motivation to do whatever it is God is directing me to do.  Do it afraid, as they say!

Just words

Isaiah 37:6 Do not be afraid because of the words you have heard…

I have always felt afraid of bad news, but then again, who does not fear that?  I remember well the day the doctor said to me “Your father is dying” even though it was over 20 years ago now, and more recently when the hospice nurse said, “Your mother has probably a few more hours.”  Both were fearful words to have to hear and yet, as the prophet Isaiah told King Hezekiah in this verse, I actually was not afraid of those words when I heard them.  I knew that God was going to take care of them and of me and our family and that their “fate” was already a secure one.  So when my father took his last breath I felt a blanket of peace fall over me, and when my mother breathed her last some 20 years later that same comfort arrived in the room.  I did not have to be afraid because of any mere words.  God had all in control.  They are just words and words cannot do any harm.