"Amazingly Powerful Words"

Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Orphrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites.
  And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!"
  And Gideon said to Him, O my Lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did not the Lord brings us up out of Egypt?' But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."
  Then the Lord turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?"
  So he said to Him, "O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house."
  And the Lord said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man." Judges 6:11-16

Today we are going to look at a thought that keeps coming back to me every time I read about Gideon and his encounter with The Angel of the Lord because I think that a lot of us at times can relate to the place we find him in. Think about it?

Maybe circumstances have you feeling like you need to keep a low profile and your trying to thresh your wheat, not on the threshing floor where you should be, but in the winepress, and its just not getting it done?

Maybe your circumstances have you feeling like you were the least of the weakest around.

Or ... Maybe ... you, like Gideon, are wondering where 'all His miracles' are in the circumstances of your life?

"The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!" These are the first words spoken to Gideon as the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and I don't know about you but I love these amazingly powerful words and not only because of the effect they had in Gideon's life but in mine as well.

Why are they amazingly powerful words? Because when I'm feeling the need to duck and cover or to hide out in the winepress, they encourage me to remember that He knows where to find me to let me know that He is with me!

Why? Because whenever I'm feeling like the least of the weakest they encourage me to remember that He sees me differently than I see myself but mostly because it means He is with me.

Why? Because whenever my circumstances try to tell me that He is no where to be found they remind me that will He always shows up to not only, encourage me with amazingly powerful words, but to remind me that even in the midst of my circumstances, ... all things (even miracles) are possible because He goes with me!

 "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor! So ...Go in this might of yours, you shall ......! Have I not sent you? Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the enemy (or your circumstance) as one man." 

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9