Little is known about Gideon prior to the time that the angel of the Lord met him in the field. He was net threshing corn by the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. There was no preceding record that showed Gideon’s involvement in any military campaign. How then could he have been described as mighty and valiant? Does a valiant man creep into holes for fear? It doesn’t add up. The only explanation we can offer for this is that God saw some potentials in Gideon that prevailing circumstances were trying to smother. God looked beyond the immediate conditions to see what Gideon would accomplish for Him. He eventually conquered his fear and did a mighty work of deliverance for the people of God. A proof of his brilliance is the fact that he was chronicled in Hebrews 11 as a man of faith.

…God sees great things in us even when our circumstances speak otherwise…We must learn to let grace speak out loud, and not our limiting circumstances.

The lesson from Gideon’s life is that God sees great things in us even when our circumstances speak otherwise. God does not look at us in our foibles and fumbles; He sees us through the eye of redemption. It was from this same standpoint that Jesus addressed Simon as Peter, a rock, even though he was still going to fumble. When he overcame his season of temptation he became a mighty pillar in the Kingdom of God. If there is any prayer to pray, it should be that God should open our eyes to see the extent of the grace He has put at our disposal. We must learn to let grace speak out loud, and not our limiting circumstances.