Judges 6:33–7:15 (ESV)

33 Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel.

It is the Word and Spirit that make us strong. We see that in Gideon. He went down into the camp, still fearful, but was strengthened by what he heard, albeit from a pagan, that God will give the enemy into his hand. It is to that word that at last he responds with faith and obedience. The Spirit-empowered deliverer worships the Lord, and he calls the camp of Israel to battle. The Lord has led him from fear to faith, weak though it remained. But faith is there, as a response to a simple promise of God: I will be with you; I will give you victory.

That response is the work of the Spirit. It is why Gideon is mentioned in Hebrews 11:1–40, in the list of those who according to Hebrews 11:34 were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. God’s definition of a servant is different from today’s definition. The servants of Scripture were really not any different than we tend to be. They were uncertain and fearful people, weak and sinful people, whose only strength was that they were blessed with the grace and Spirit of God. God is the one who made them fit for service. That must encourage also us today. The secret of success in the service of the Lord is that you in faith worship God and take him at his Word.