“Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.”

Judges 6:11-12

When was a time you were afraid, and looking back, you had no reason to be afraid?

I was strapped into a climbing harness. The carabiners at the end of my harness were hooked onto the cable just above my head, woven into the rope I was holding. I was sitting on the edge of a platform 30 feet in the air. I was waiting for the guide who was behind me to tell me it was safe for me to lean forward.

Lean forward??? Are you crazy? This was the craziest rope swing I’d ever seen. It was the only way down form the high ropes course at camp. And I was up. I was about to go down.

The mechanics of the swing were pretty simple. Gravity and a slack in the rope meant I would lean forward and I was fall straight down until the rope went taut. Then, with a jerking change of direction, I would turn into a human pendulum until I slowed down and could unhook at the ladder below.

This was crazy. Have you done something crazy? The reality is, there is doing something crazy and there is doing something crazy in a controlled environment with safety equipment and guides to help you have terrifying fun. This was the later.

Of course I leaned forward. And I screamed my head off when the rope went taut. By the end I was laughing and wondering if there was a way to do it again before the week was up. Safety harnesses, inspected climbing equipment, and expertly trained guides to ensure things are as they should be—this is the way to do fear filled things with confidence.

This is the story of Gideon. He enters the scene as he is doing his chores. He was beating the wheat to separate the wheat from the chaff. The chaff is the leafy part of the plant. At harvest time it is light and feathery. It blows away in the wind. You would throw a shovel full into the air on a windy day and the wind would blow the unwanted chaff away. The wheat—the good stuff—would fall back into the pile.

The problem was, Gideon was in the worst place doing this task. Normally you do it on a hill—where the wind is strongest. Gideon was hiding in the low place. Winepresses were located below ground level in pits or carved out areas. This made the wine pressing easier. It made separating wheat and chaff much harder.

In short, Gideon was hiding in fear.

And yet, the angel of the Lord greets Gideon with a beautiful title—mighty man of valor.

Mighty men of valor don’t hide in the winepress. They don’t cower. They don’t hide.

The beauty of Gideon’s story is, this is where it begins. In the basement of a winepress. Even in this moment, the Lord sees and speaks into Gideon’s future. He speaks a word of truth over him. He casts a vision that Gideon will live into.

From cowering to bravery. From fear to faith. From hiding to purposeful living for the world to see.

Gideon defeats the enemies of the Lord and restores faith filled living for Israel in the verses and chapters ahead. The cowardly becomes the courageous.

Why? Because the Lord was with him. At every turn the Lord’s presence went before Gideon. It assured Him of his victory. Even when his army was reduced to 300 men. God was still the guide that led Gideon forward. God’s presence still empowered the Lord’s servant.

If God is for you, what can stand against you? If God is with you, what shall prevail over you? If you are the Lord’s, what could ever be taken from you that has greater worth than the Lord?

I say these things, not to be glib. Important things and precious people are taken from us all too often. And it is gut wrenching. When we are abandoned—fear is a natural and expected emotion that swallows us whole. Grief and sorrow gnash and chew up even the strongest of people. This is real. And we join Jesus in showing compassion when our loved ones are going through this—just as we pray they show up when we need them most.

The point is this. Even when fear surrounds you and darkness closes in—hear the cry of the Angel of the Lord. You, despite the current evidence, are a mighty warrior. You are a a son and daughter of the King. And He has work for you to do. Stop hiding. Stop cowering. Rise. Go. Be bold. Lean in. Sure, it’s scary. But the God of the universe will never let you go. Ever.

When was a time you overcame fear? How does this past victory prepare you for the next time?