Gideon was the last born of his family. Besides being the last, his family was the least in the town. Thus, he was last and his family was last too. So, he grew up with the low life and was comfortable and contended.
A time came that his town was under siege, surrounded by their enemy. Gideon's hometown did not have the army expertise or weapons to fight. Thus, though in their hometown, they were under captivity.
The soldiers from the enemy's side started living on their farm produce. That brought a lot of hunger to the owners of the land and farms.
One day, Gideon went to his father's small farm to harvest and hide their corn to ensure the enemy's soldiers don't get to see it first. He has been doing it that way to feed his family. That was their little secret. So, while others were complaining of hunger, his family usually had what to eat. Thanks to Gideon's smartness.
But that day, while he was hiding the corn, a man in white appeared to him. He was afraid, thinking the man is one of the soldiers, only that he wore white instead of army uniform. So, as this man looked different, he became calm a bit. The man then greeted him with these words: THE LORD IS WITH THEE THOU MAN OF VALOUR. Gideon was surprise, because it was both scary and funny. How can he just call me a strong man, being that he just met me today for the first time, does he even know who I am, my background and what I'm doing here? He said to himself. Maybe I should prove him wrong and convince him he's making a huge mistake. Maybe he's mistaken me for someone else, he said in his mind.
So, he summoned courage to address the man. "I'm the last born in my family and my family is the least in Manasseh, maybe you are making a mistake." Guess what, I'm here harvesting and hiding our little family corn from the enemy's soldiers, I'm sure mighty men don't come from where I come from and they don't do what I'm doing", he said.
The man looked at him and said "go in this thy might and you shall defeat the enemy as one man". That was shocking. The man went on to tell him that the Lord is with him. If the Lord is with me, why is all this befalling us, where are all the miracles our forefathers use to tell us about, Gideon protested. They used to tell us how the Lord killed the firstborns of their enemies and divided the red sea to bring them out of captivity. Now the Lord had abandoned us into the hands of these evil men.
But the man was able to encourage him to make a turning away from worship of idols and face the enemy in righteousness, being the only way he can conquer the enemy. From that day, boldness came. He went to his family house and burnt down the altars of the strange gods. He gathered people and arranged for battle. At last, he defeated the enemy with just 300 men.
Are you feeling unqualified to be the best you can be? Come on! Yours is not that bad. At least nobody is denying you of food. You are not trying to hide anything from anyone. Cheer up and go in this your strength. Life is a battle and you are here to conquer. There's no other option than being victorious. Go for it! Maybe I'm that man that should tell you this, in a time like this. I can't appear to you in white, but I can reach you with my article. Good thing is that you get the message and you are still alive to make a move. You didn't die before now, because there's more to accomplish. Go! Just go! That strength you feel right now is more than enough. You are here to win, not to fail.
My name is Greatness96.
Stay blessed.
