(Click here for a video of John reading today’s Catch)
When our story begins, Gideon is not at all aware that he has been chosen to do anything but try to stay alive. Like everyone else in his country, he is hiding. All of his people have left their homes and are living in the mountains in caves because their homes are constantly being attacked and looted by the marauding Midianite army. They are all hiding and they are all afraid.
That’s when God shows up, and if we’re paying attention, we might even see Him. In Gideon’s case, it was the angel of the Lord that sat near him under the great tree, and in the next verse it says the angel of the Lord appeared to him. Who knows how long the angel sat there before he “appeared” to Gideon, but it does seem that the angel being there, and the angel appearing to him, were two different things.
When things seem to be going wrong for us, I wonder how long it takes before we realize that the Lord has been there all along? Sometimes not until afterwards, and we realize we could have called on Him a lot sooner. For Gideon, the appearance of the angel became clear when the angel spoke to him, and what he said would turn Gideon’s world upside down. Little did he know that in a matter of days, he would be chasing fleeing Midianites, wielding his sword in battle two towns over, that all 120,000 of them to the last man would end up dead or captured, that the heads of the two Midianite kings would be brought to him on a platter, and that he would be judge and ruler over Israel for forty years of peace.
No, all he heard was, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!”
“Who, me? Mighty hero? You have to be joking.” And Gideon will go on to be cynical, doubtful, fearful and he will need three different miraculous signs to prove to him that the Lord is truly with Him, and with a fourth sign thrown in for extra measure.
And isn’t that just like us? Wouldn’t we need the same thing?
What are you afraid of today? What are you facing that seems impossible? What enemy are you fighting? What addiction? What temptation? What sin? Do you know what the Holy Spirit is saying to you? The same thing. He is saying, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!” I think we all need to stick with this story and find out how to overcome.
CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO OF GIDEON HIDING
John Fischer The Catch 
Sometimes one can be so afraid of so much in life that its really stressful and well, you always pray, hope, and try to think positive. Sometimes the overwhelming bad stories on the news make one fearful and the mass shootings puts fear into a person as you believe no matter where you go in public you are a possible target. I believe its just a matter of more prayer, try to find something light to watch after hearing such bad news to lay it down for a little while and lastly the twenty-third psalm in the book of Psalms. I read that one each day so that helps so much with determination and the fear I am feeling at times and just remember always what it says and means. Take care, God Bless, and have a great weekend.