Gideon

He's one of my favorite guys in the Bible. Really.

He got picked--the weakest member of the weakest clan of one of the weaker tribes of Israel--to lead 300 men against an entire occupying force with horns and torches. And won.

That's the classic story, anyway. Most people gloss over the fact that he had 70 sons from many wives, that his illegitimate son killed all the others, or that between his first recruiting visit and the test of the fleece he went and destroyed a Baal statue and an Asherah pole. Once God got a hold of him, he gained a reputation of being a troublemaker pretty quickly. And we know him best for it.

It is in that first recruiting visit that Gideon is first recognized for what he will be. God greeted him saying, "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior."

What gets me about the conversation after that is that Gideon questions whether God is indeed with Israel. It takes some time before he finally says, Wait, what did you call me? How can I save Israel? And God's answer is simple enough: "I will be with you."

That's all we ever need to know, that God will be with us. A great many risks are not taken out of fear, but really out of forgetfulness. Fathers forget that God is with them; churches forget that God is with them; leaders forget that God is with them.

God does not flinch in the face of the abnormal or overwhelming; God does not doubt His power; God does not leave His people.

That's who sends us. That's who is with us.

That's who calls us Mighty Warrior.