The Strength You Have-February 2, 2026
Then the Lord turned to him and said "Go with the strength you have and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you." Judges 6:14
*February 8 2010
How strong are you? If someone asks that question would the first thing you think of be physical or mental strength? A child would probably show you his muscle. Little boys are fond of bending their arm, rolling up their shirt sleeve, tightening their biceps and showing off their "muscle" to demonstrate how strong they are.
As adults, we might be more inclined to think of mental toughness. What might come to mind is a difficult situation we made it through or a particularly trying time and how we persevered.
Often, we don't think about, or we underestimate how strong we really are until we are forced to call on that inner strength. That's when we are most likely to turn to the Lord for an extra measure of strength. Philippians 4:13 says, "For I can do all things through Christ who gives me the strength, I need."
In interviewing athletes about their faith over the years, I've found that verse from Philippians to be a favorite. That is especially true among football players. Football is such a tough, physical game it requires a certain amount of physical strength. I think the players relate that kind of strength to what the apostle Paul is saying here. But I think Paul is talking about being strengthened mentally, as well, for the battles ahead. He's not really referring to brute physical strength.
The NLT Bible says: "Can we really do everything? The power we receive in union with Christ is sufficient to do his will and to face the challenges that arise from our commitment to doing it. He does not grant us superhuman ability to accomplish anything we can imagine without regard to his interests. As we contend for the faith, we will face troubles, pressures, and trials. As they come, ask Christ to strengthen you."
We have more strength than we realize we have. When put to the test the human spirit can endure a lot. In fact, we have been endowed with the strength to accomplish things we may never have even considered.
Take Gideon for example. He certainly never expected to be called on by God to do anything big. He just went to work as usual one day. Trying to provide food for his family. He was actually hiding out in the winepress while threshing his wheat so the Midianite warriors, fierce enemies of the Israelites wouldn't see him and come steal the wheat.
Then, suddenly and dramatically an angel sent from God appeared to him and dropped this little bombshell on him. The angel told Gideon that he was going to be the one to rescue his people from the very ones he was hiding from.
The Midianites were bad news. You didn't mess around with them. These desert people had been making raids and wreaking havoc on the Israelites for a long time. Gideon's thinking regarding these enemies was safety and protection first. He certainly, in his wildest imagination. never dreamed of attacking them. God had other, much grander ideas about the strength he had given Gideon.
NLT says: "Most of us want to know God's plan for our lives, but we are not always sure how to find it...In the Bible's description of how God guided many people we can see that often God's call came while people were completely immersed in the challenge of the moment, a good example of this is Gideon."
Just imagine how incredulous Gideon was when he received the news. He was just doing his job. He certainly never viewed himself as a strong personality, one that could lead an entire nation. But, you see, God's plans are a lot bigger for us than the plans we have for ourselves and we "can do all things through Christ who strengthens us."
The angel had to overcome three objections before Gideon was convinced that this was really what he was supposed to do. 1) Gideon's feelings of responsibility for his family's welfare 2) His doubts about the call itself 3) His feelings of inadequacy for the job.
We can learn a lot from this story. First of all, God does have a specific plan for each of us, and we must be open to receiving it for it to work. We can feel certain this plan is bigger than our paltry ones. It will be great. Second, He's not throwing us out there to accomplish something on our own. He's gonna be right there with us, encouraging us to call on his strength and stretch ourselves beyond what we could have even dreamed of. Third, this call and his plan can involve what we are doing right now. It can be revealed to us at work or on some project we are involved in. It doesn't have to be some dramatic, lightning-bolt of heaven-sent information. It can come to us in our everyday, run-of-the-mill existence. So, we must be ready, remain available and be open to whatever the message is no matter how impossible it may seem.
Once again NLT says, "Like Gideon, we are called to serve God in specific ways. Although God promises us the tools and strength we need, we often make excuses. But reminding God of our limitations only implies that he does not know all about us, or that he has made a mistake in evaluating our character. Don't spend time making excuses. Instead, spend it doing what God wants."
We must be ready every day. God may be ready to reveal something, new and exciting to us while we work or play or even sleep. I think we can all relate to the perceived weakness Gideon viewed as innate in his character. Obviously, God didn't see it the same way. He only recognized Gideon's potential and promised to help him use his own strength to accomplish something great in his life. He's waiting to do the same kind of thing in your life.
Oh yeah, Gideon went on to defeat thousands of Midianites with just 300 men!
Monday Prayer: Lord, we pray for open minds to receive your instructions and the wisdom to know that you have given us the strength to accomplish the assignment you give us. Amen!