Leaving the Winepress

“The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak where…Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites.  The LORD's angel appeared to him there and said, ‘The LORD is with you, brave and mighty man!’" Judges 6:11-12

I love this scene in the Biblical account of Gideon, who was a timid and scared man expecting the worst.  His region had been invaded and attacked many times by the Midianites and he knew it was just a matter of time before they wreaked havoc again.  His goal was to go unnoticed…undetected…undercover so he did his mundane work in a winepress which was in a shadowy part of a rock hidden among the oaks.  God knew right where to find this terrified man and appeared to him identifying Gideon to be the opposite of what his actions displayed.  God called him a brave and mighty man when in reality, he stood before God a frightened and timid individual. 

I’m wondering this morning who is like Gideon hiding in the winepress frightened of the future, just trying to hide among the rock?  I’m wondering about the person who has seen the face of the same enemy multiple times awaiting the next assault.  Perhaps the enemy is the self-talk they say to themselves.  Who has a heart wanting to go unnoticed, undetected and isolated?  If it is you, then be prepared to come face to face with the Angel of the Lord.  If it is you, then understand that your crisis cannot take you to a place where God’s presence and grace can’t find you.  And when He meets you at that place, He will describe you in words you feel unworthy to receive.  He will call you forgiving…He will call you courageous…He will call you purposeful...He will call you ultimately victorious.  Because just like Gideon, God calls us according to the potential He sees in us.  One of my greatest and happiest pursuits was being a mother.  So, when my children were grown and on their own I began to feel useless.  I began to stay at home more, being more isolated with feelings of increasing uselessness .  But, when God met me in my winepress He called me a writer when I saw myself as an out of work mom.  He took the testimonies of the adversities in my life and birthed the calling He had upon my life.  “There is always calling out of chaos and commissioning out of calamity.  And our crisis is sometimes exactly what we need to be prepared and at the right place and right time to do what God has called us to do.” The Faithful – Gideon, Priscilla Shirer, video highlight.

God is in the place of your toughest challenge and your most painful circumstances.  He is calling you to see yourself through His eyes…brave…equipped…victorious.  So come out of the winepress and take hold of the future God has for your life.