God has a history of using people no one else wanted. David was the youngest of his brothers, the twelve disciples were mostly outcasts, and Paul was in the middle of persecuting Christians when God picked him to spread the good news. God uses some of the least qualified people to do some of the most miraculous things. Why? Because God likes proving that He is God. When God does the unexpected with the unexpected, He gets all the glory.
In the book of Judges, God’s people continuously turn their backs on Him and fall under enemy oppression. Once they had enough, they would smarten up and cry out to God for help. Then God would raise a judge to deliver the nation once again. And one time, he did it in a way no one could deny the presence and power of God at work. God picked Gideon, the youngest of his family in the lowest tribe of Israel. He was a man no one would have chosen to be a judge, but God had a special plan for him. Gideon was hiding from the enemy when he heard an unexpected voice. It was an angel, giving him an unexpected word from God. The angel said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
God called Gideon to rescue the nation of Israel from their oppressor, but Gideon questioned his call. He questioned his call because he didn’t see himself as a warrior or a “mighty man of God.” Surely there were more qualified people God could choose, but God called him so He could get the glory. Once Gideon accepted his calling, he gathered an army of 32,000 men. But once again, God did the unexpected. God told Gideon that his army was too large. An army of that size could claim victory by their own power, but God wanted all the credit. Through a series of questions and tests, Gideon’s army was whittled down to 300 men.
Gideon trusted God and went into a battle outnumbered by over 100,000. But God’s presence had gone before them and thrown fear into the Midianite camp. When Gideon’s army announced themselves, the camp went into utter chaos. The soldiers turned on each other, and some tried to escape, only to be tracked down and killed. Gideon and his army of 300 defeated the Midianites and released Israel from their oppression, but they didn’t get the credit. God received all the glory because He did it in an unexpected way.
The bottom line is not whether you are qualified; it is whether you will accept your call. Gideon wasn’t expecting his call, and he certainly didn’t expect it to happen the way it did, but he answered the call. Our mission may be different than Gideon’s, but God is calling all of us to something. What He said to Gideon, He says to you, “Go in the strength you have, I am sending you. I will be with you.” You may not expect this calling, but God is calling out to you. The question is, will you answer Him?