Today’s Reading: Judges 6:6-16

“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.”

Judges 6:15 (NIV)

Playing “Red Rover” on the tennis courts in elementary school always caused my stomach to tighten with a vise-like grip of fear. We students formed two parallel lines of approximately fifteen kids each. We linked arms and faced the opposite row, like soldiers on a battle field. One energetic child would race across the fifty feet of open space and attempt to crash through the human line by breaking apart the joined hands. If he or she broke through the line, a point would be gained for their team. As a thin, frail, third-grade girl, I had a reputation for being a weak link and was often the target of the attacks.

As an adult, I often struggle with anxiety. I worry that I won’t have the resources to accomplish the tasks ahead of me for the day. At times it has seemed like I am the weak one who Satan laughingly singles out to attack with bouts of fear, anxiety, or depression.

Gideon declared that he was the weak link in his family, indeed in his entire clan. But God himself pledged to the reluctant warrior, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites” (Judges 6:16a).

God comes alongside me when I am the weakest and lifts me up. He takes hold of the least likely candidates and helps them win the battles before them. The Bible assures us over and over that God goes with us always, when we place our trust in him.

While playing that rough game as a child, one of the strong, tough boys on my team would usually position himself beside me.  Grasping my arm at the elbow and pressing his body forward, he took the brunt of the bash and kept me from serious harm.

Many times, I have seen God protect me, bringing people into my life like that young boy. Jesus is my ultimate hero. He took my sins upon himself, protecting me from eternal destruction. He promises to never leave me nor forsake me, and he gives me power to do the things I can’t do on my own.

Prayer: Father, thank you that you will always be my strength, especially in my weakest times.

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