But in this very moment Gideon and his nation are crushed under Midian. The very last thought on his mind had anything to do with being mighty. So Gideon's reply is, "If the Lord is with us then why has all this happened? Were are his wonders we have been told about?"
Gideon continues to doubt... He needs proof that it really is God calling him mighty and asking him to deliver the nation from Midian.
Gideon actually doubts many times, he needs proof at every encounter of this story. God never rebukes him for this desire of proof. God is patient with him and even works with all the requests from Gideon.
Sometimes when you have been oppressed for a long time, its hard to believe anything good about yourself or the future.
I can identify with the words, if the Lord is with us then WHY has all this happened to us? What a great question. Very real and authentic. What does God do? As a Father he loves Gideon and encourages him every step of the way.
Before Gideon even encounters this angel something very important happened. The people cried out to the Lord. And he heard them... thus the encounter with Gideon.
There are so many things to take away form this piece of history. We will be writing about it all this week.
We asked the men of The Grove to come on stage last Sunday. We filled the entire stage with men and we asked them to cry out to the Lord. We asked them to search their hearts and see if there is anything that needs to be dealt with anything that needs to be torn down. At the same time we asked the women of The Grove to come up front and declare blessings over the men as they cried out.
What a powerful moment it was, God broke into the situation. Women were releasing blessing over the men. Just like God did through the angel to Gideon. The angel said, "The Lord is with you valiant warrior." He spoke blessing and reality over Gideon even before Gideon saw it for himself.
At one moment the ladies were so loud and as the men heard their blessing on them I saw men cry and break free. One of our ladies went even further and rose above everyone verbally as she was led by the Spirit. She poured it on and spoke such fierce truth. I could see men being encouraged.
Then one of our men heard from God and coached all the men to cry out freedom. Yeah the same cry for freedom in the movie Braveheart. So the men cried out together in a LOUD voice FREEDOM!
The Holy Spirit was at work Sunday. We are entering into a new season. A new day at The Grove. I have had this phrase on my mind for a few days and I can see it happening now. A seed must go into the ground and die before it can produce life. In so many ways I identify with that phrase. The Grove has died to its own strength and now the Father is leading us in new life! It's a new season for us my friends.
I believe that God is giving us strategy to launch a men's movement within The Grove. Valiant warriors, arise and conquer! We must advance the Kingdom as one unit.
