“The angel of the LORD came and he sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress in order to hide it from the Midianites. Then the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said: “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.” Judges 6:11-12 (HCSB)
This first post has been four months in the making. There have been several attempts to start writing because I’m confident that the Lord has called me to be a Christian communicator. Upon rising that morning, it was as if He knew I was going to need a message from Him. I couldn’t just be any old message. It needed to be boldly written; on neon green paper- with a bright orange highlighter. Just as Gideon asked for confirmation in Judges 6:17 , so did I and our Father faithfully provided it. Yet; even with that I still couldn’t get these anxious fingers to type on this public website – go figure! Professionally, I have spoken, written and educated on healthcare related issues for more than 30 years as a nurse, but THIS seemed too lofty for me.
So back to safely writing in the journal in my winepress – I mean prayer room. In spite of my disobedience, God placed timely truths in front of me every day that blessed me tremendously. During this pandemic, He has lovingly brought me through some difficult times. Don’t get it twisted – He’s also taught me some things I didn’t want to know about myself. The word of God has rebuked, corrected, trained and is still equipping me to do what he has called me to do 2 Tim 3:16-17. During some of those journaling sessions, I also wondered if those messages could have helped someone else. But I didn’t share them and I repent for that. The desire was to make sure that everything was perfect before publishing. Then I realized – that was MY desire. That’s why I was afraid – I was making it about me. I was afraid because I didn’t think I could do it alone. The scripture clearly says that the Lord “came” and then it says the Lord “appeared”. The reference to the angel of the Lord in this scripture is the Malak Yahweh – the very presence of the Lord. So He was already there with Gideon! Gideon didn’t notice Him until he appeared and he isn’t the only one who needed to be reminded of that. Ouch and Amen!
Gideon was in a winepress- threshing wheat – hidden away. Threshing wheat should be done out in the open so that the wind can help blow the useless chaff away – not in a small, closed room like a winepress. Gideon was doing the right thing in the wrong place because he was afraid. His work (and ours) made so much more difficult at least partially because of fear. But Gideon’s story reminds us that when the Lord calls us, then we can be assured that we need to go in the strength we have (v.14) for He will be with us (v.16).
He has strengthened us for the task to which we have been called. Now – Go Forward!! And unless you’ve got grapes in your hand…Get out of that winepress!
Father, I thank you for placing your Spirit in us to strengthen us and I thank you for making your presence and your purpose for our lives known to us. May we continue to walk in your will. We love you and honor you. In Jesus Name. Amen.