And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. (Judges 6:11-13)
Gideon was a man called and anointed by God to do great things. However, when we first meet him in the book of Judges, he is threshing wheat in a winepress while hiding from the Midianites, who were oppressing Israel. In case you’ve never threshed wheat, let me tell you a winepress is not the place to do it. Gideon’s existence was submerged in fear because the Midianites were savage and cruel.
One day, an angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon under an oak tree near his “threshing floor” winepress. The angel greeted Gideon as God saw him, addressing the man hiding in a winepress, as a mighty man of valour. He also reminded him that God was with him. Those words must have encouraged him, but Gideon asked, “If God is for us, then why do we have all these problems?” Notice the angel didn’t answer that question. Instead, he told Gideon about what God wanted him to do to lead his nation to freedom from the evil Midianites.
This encounter with the angel served as a pivotal moment for Gideon. Empowered by the angel's words and the assurance that God was with him, Gideon led a remarkable victory against the Midianites with only a small army of 300.
Just as the angel strengthened Gideon through encouragement and reminders of what God said, angels will inspire and guide believers today if we will listen and receive.
Practical Application
How are you at receiving encouragement? Some people feel uncomfortable when people encourage them because they have an improper perspective of who they are in Christ. Learn how to take compliments and receive encouragement from anyone, even a stranger. Who knows? That might be an angel sent to encourage you.