Israel had become an impoverished land. Its people were at the mercy of Midianites who showed them no mercy. The Midianites invaded their land, camped in their fields, and destroyed their crops. The Israelites lived in fear with many resorting to hiding in the safety of mountain clefts and caves.

One day, hiding from the Midianites, Gideon is threshing wheat in the bottom of a winepress when the Angel of the Lord appears, greeting Gideon with this salutation:

“God is with you, O mighty warrior!” (Judges 6:11)

Gideon – a mighty warrior? Really? In the bottom of a winepress, hiding from the Midianites, Gideon feels like anything but a mighty warrior. So his reaction is genuine:

“Me, my master? How and with what could I ever save Israel? Look at me. My clan’s the weakest in Manasseh and I’m the runt of the litter.” (Judges 6:15 MSG)

Gideon’s response can be summed up with two words: “I can’t.”

But God trumped Gideon’s “I can’t” with His “But I can!”

“I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.” (Judges 6:16 NIV)

God called Gideon a mighty warrior long before he ever became one – a warrior who defeated the great army of Midian with a mere 300 men. Gideon’s “I can’t” was transformed into “I can” because God was with him. AND, because Gideon believed that God would be with him and acted upon that faith, Gideon became the mighty warrior he never dreamed he could be.

God has a calling for each one of us – a calling to be:

            A mighty teacher

            A mighty mentor

            A mighty intercessor

            A mighty counselor

            A mighty missionary

            A mighty advocate for the poor

            A mighty minister to the needy

  His list of “mighty” callings are innumerable.

But whatever His “mighty” calling is for you, understand it will stretch you beyond your own abilities; it will force you out of your comfort zone. So, it is natural, even instinctive to find yourself responding like Gideon: “Who me? I can’t.”

But the same God who was with Gideon continues to be with us today.

It is true. We can’t become who God wants us to be, we can’t accomplish the “mighty” things He wants us to accomplish on our own. But with His empowerment, His guidance, His inspiration, He can transform our “I can’t” to His “I can.” When we believe that God is indeed with us and then act upon that belief, we can become what He has called us to be. We can realize who we are as God sees us!