“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).

God sent His personal representative, the Angel of the Lord, to Gideon at Ophrah. Because He was the Angel of the Lord, He spoke with God’s full authority.

Things were pretty bleak in Israel at this time. Whenever the Israelites planted crops, large bands of nomadic raiders would attack and plunder them leaving nothing for Israel to eat.

Because of the threat from the Midianites, Gideon was threshing wheat in a wine vat, a shallow depression in the rock. This was a safer location than the more exposed threshing floor.

The title given to Gideon by the angel, “mighty warrior,” is in sharp contrast to Gideon’s reticence and overly cautious nature. Time and again Gideon required reassurance from God that he was the one called to accomplish God’s will or that he was doing what God had called him to do.

To me, Gideon was more like a “reluctant warrior” than a mighty warrior. But God saw something else in Gideon and all his protestations to God were useless in light of the fact that God promised to be with him.

So, when the “Spirit of the Lord took control of Gideon” (vs. 34), he became that “mighty warrior” so named by the Angel of the Lord!

Just like in ancient Israel, there’s a battle raging today to control the hearts of men and women and God needs warriors willing to go to battle for His Kingdom.

Now there are a couple of principles we can learn about God’s calling and commissioning of warriors to fight for His Kingdom from the example of God’s calling of Gideon.

First, God calls busy people. Gideon was threshing wheat when the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and he was reluctant to leave what he was doing. If you are the kind of person who is busy taking care of your business, then you are the kind of person God can use to do His business.

Second, the competence and expertise that you need to do your business are not necessarily what God needs for you to do His business. When God calls you, He will enable and empower you to do His will. to conduct His business. Remember, God makes mighty warriors out of reluctant warriors.

So, let God prepare and empower you for spiritual warfare. Let Him take control of your life so you can become a mighty warrior for His Kingdom!