Gideon: Strength Out of Weakness (1) - All The LORD is near Daily Devotionals for 2025

So [Gideon] said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
Judges 6:15

Gideon: Strength Out of Weakness (1)
Here we reach a profoundly interesting stage of Gideon’s preparatory course. He is called to enter practically and experimentally into the great and universal law for the servants of God, namely, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” This is a most precious law, and one which forms an indispensable element in the education of all Christ’s servants. Let no one imagine that he can ever be used in the Lord’s work, or ever make progress in the divine life, without some measure of real entrance into this invaluable principle. We hold it to be absolutely essential in forming the character of the true servant of Christ. Where it is not known, where it has not been felt, where it has not been, to some extent, realized, there is sure to be unsubduedness, unbrokenness, self-occupation, in some form or another. There will be more or less of self-confidence, and various points and angles turning up, here and there, and acting as a sad hindrance to all that is good, useful, and holy.

On the other hand, when one has learned that great family motto quoted above, when one has learned, in the divine presence to say, “When I am weak, then I am strong,” when nature has been weighed in the balance of the sanctuary, there you will always find a measure of brokenness, softness, and tenderness of spirit; and not only so, but also largeness of heart, and readiness for every good work, and that lovely elasticity of mind which enables one to rise above all those petty selfish considerations which so sadly hinder the work of God.

In short, the heart must first be broken, then made whole; and, being made whole, be undividedly given to Christ and to His blessed service.

C. H. Mackintosh