Strength and Hope (tying verses together and my own idea. Just my own conclusions and thoughts)
1. Strength and the source of it:
God calls Gideon a mighty warrior. He labels and addresses him with virtues Gideon didn’t believe he had. Gideon questions not the validity of the speaker as true but his assessment of his abilities because of what he knew and saw around him at that time.
Gideon responding his family is the weakest family out of all and he’s the weakest of his whole own family.
God tells Gideon “go in the strength you have” and He will essentially supply the rest, make up for the checks and balances Gideon doesn’t feel because He is going to be with him. (Gideon later does become exactly what he was addressed as and was his destiny with God’s help)
Reference:
“When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” 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.”
The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.””
Judges 6:12, 14-16 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/jdg.6.16.NIV
Take away:
1. The power of someone supporting you even when you don’t believe them. Like the good they say about you or a situation in the long term for example.
2. Having a sense of purpose enables us to do more than we thought. Having something to do sometimes is enough motivation in and of itself to help us get through
3. God was with him from the beginning and through it all and enabled him to do more because ultimately it was God working through Gideon. When we allow ourselves to trust and focus on who He says we are, we give Him room to do the unthinkable, He give us the strength to make it and we become stronger and more than we ever thought we could be.
Hope – Romans 15:13:
There’s a lot going on in this one verse but that’s why I’m including a number of translations.
Reference: Romans 15:13
New International Version
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
New Living Translation
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
English Standard Version
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
GOD’S WORD® Translation
May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace through your faith in him. Then you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Takeaway:
1. When everything feels hopeless, there is a God who among many many attributes is the god of hope. The source we can tap into for hope.
2. If we trust Him, joy and peace will follow. Perhaps not in the following 30 seconds, but then again it very well may be. It’s on a case by case basis. (And a lifelong process and journey as it’s applied to new areas of our inner selves, the people in our lives at that time and much more)
3. Just like the third point on strength, the Holy Spirit steps in and enables us to have this hope. There is the promise in Matthew 12:20 that a “bruised reed He will not break”.
It is actually quoting Isaiah 42:3. Here’s the amplified version: ““A broken reed He will not break [off] And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish [He will not harm those who are weak and suffering]; He will faithfully bring forth justice. [Matt 12:17-21]”
https://bible.com/bible/1588/isa.42.3.AMP
And a very good commentary on what a bruised reed is to those around us (and maybe how we think of ourselves until we go to the source and find strength and hope):
“To the world, a bruised reed is a worthless thing. It has no power, no stability, no purpose. It is good for nothing but to be cut down and discarded. So in the world there are many bruised people, individuals who have been wounded emotionally, spiritually, or physically. They are feeble, and to most of the world, they are dispensable. But not to God. The prophecy that Jesus fulfilled is that the bruised reed He would not break. It’s a prophecy that speaks of Christ’s tender, compassionate care for the weak and downtrodden.” (https://www.gotquestions.org/bruised-reed-not-break.html)
