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 wine vat 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
When I was a young boy, there was a boy who lived in our neighborhood that frequently bullied me. One day after complaining to my parents about the bully picking on me, my father taught me how to defend myself against the bully. I usually tried to avoid this boy rather than have to confront him in some way.
Gideon was hiding from the Midianites. Wheat was not normally threshed in a wine vat. Threshing floors were usually high and exposed so that when the wheat was tossed into the air the winds would carry the useless pieces of shell called chaff away and the grains of wheat would fall to the ground. The heavier pieces were used for making breads and other food. If Gideon had done this, he would have been a target for bands of Midianite raiders. Therefore, he was forced to thresh wheat in a wine vat hidden from view. This certainly does not sound like a person that would be called a “mighty warrior”.
Challenge: Are there times when you would rather hide than fight? God knows your true character and He has a different perspective on life than ours. God came to call an unsure and insecure Gideon. With God's power and ability, He used Gideon to defeat the Midianites. God can use you to accomplish His will, even if you do not feel very confident.
Read The Bible Through In Two Years: Genesis 34:1-31; Matthew 22:23-46