Christy Johnston: "Mighty Men and Women of Valor - Come Out of Hiding!"

"Mighty Men and Women of Valor - Come Out of Hiding!"
by Christy Johnston, Gold Coast, Australia

"Mighty Men and Women of Valor - Come Out of Hiding!"
by Christy Johnston, Gold Coast, Australia

Recently I heard the Father speak this statement to me: "I am calling forth My mighty men and women of valor out of hiding!" His words held such authority and ferociousness that it took me by surprise. I had to stop what I was doing as I sensed an urgency to study the story of Gideon. As I read, the impact of the Father's declaration became more apparent.

In Judges 6:11 we meet Gideon, "But one day the Angel of the Lord came and sat beneath the oak tree at Ophrah, on the farm of Joash the Abiezrite. Joash's son, Gideon, had been threshing wheat by hand in the bottom of a grape press—a pit where grapes were pressed to make wine—for he was hiding from the Midianites."

This verse is crucial. Gideon was threshing wheat by hand in the bottom of a grape press "in hiding". Threshing wheat was a common practice of their day; an arduous process in which the kernel of grain is removed from its stalk. This process was mostly performed on a "threshing floor" located on the top of a hill and in plain sight for all to see. Why? The wind or air on the top of the hill was a key factor in helping with the separation process and most farmers of the day would enlist the help of their heavy oxen or cattle to trample upon the wheat.

So why was Gideon carrying out this laborious task on his own with his bare hands, hiding in a dark pit? The Israelites had been under heavy oppression by the hand of their enemy, the Midianites. Initially, the Israelites had done wrong by the Lord because they began worshipping other idols, but the oppression caused by their enemy moved the heart of God. The Midianites were a people who had stolen from and oppressed Gods people. Judges 6 tells us that they stole so much from the Israelites that they left nothing for them to live on.

Destiny Calling

When we find Gideon hiding in the pit, he was hiding the rewards of his labor from his enemy, in fear that they would take from him what belonged to him. It is in the pit, in Gideons place of fear and hiding, that the Angel of the Lord appears to him and calls him forth. What is declared over him in this moment is a declaration of who he really is – not who he was in that moment, "The Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, "Mighty soldier, the Lord is with you!" Judges 6:12

Other translations of this verse call him a "mighty hero, mighty man of valor, valiant warrior, courageous warrior or brave one." What was God doing? He was calling forth Gideon's destiny, the mighty man within, even though his outward circumstances spoke the opposite. If God were to define Gideon based on his current circumstance, He might of called him, "weak, cowering or fearful one." Yet, Gideons name is symbolic in this story as well. Simply translated, his name means: "hewer, feller" or "one who cuts down/cuts off". He was destined to cut off and cut down the oppression of the enemy against God's people.

Initially however, he was not so easy to convince. Even with the Angel of the Lord standing before him affirming to him who he was, Gideon's first reaction was not one of faith. "Gideon replied, 'With me, My Master?' If God is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all the miracle-wonders our parents and grandparents told us about, telling us, 'Didn't God deliver us from Egypt?' But God faced him directly: 'Go in this strength that is yours. Save Israel from Midian. Haven't I just sent you'?"

God faced him directly. God turned and assured him, "Go in this strength that I have given you...it is yours!"

From the Pit and Into Your Promise

Have you found yourself in circumstances recently where you feel as though the enemy has been tasked to rob from you? It has felt like one relentless hit after another and you have been left feeling as though you have little strength, joy and peace? The battle you have been fighting has felt long, arduous and tiring, and what you do have left, you have been forced to protect in hiding. The pit you have retreated to has been confining but it has also given you a false sense of safety.

If your life has been under the oppression of the enemy, then it is YOU, His MIGHTY man or woman of VALOR, that God is calling forth out of hiding! He is calling you out with the strength that He has equipped you with and given to you. You have everything you need and it is time to come out of hiding and obscurity and cut down the enemy from before you, the enemy that has been robbing you for far too long.

If like Gideon, you are questioning God's choice of choosing you, and you have a long list of why your not courageous enough – God is facing you, turning towards you and affirming that it is indeed YOU that He has chosen. While you may not feel courageous or brave, He has equipped you with all that you need and God will use the years you felt have been wasted in hiding, and turn it into redemptive power to loose the chains of people also in hiding.

Rise up today and step out of the cave that has made you inactive and ineffective for far too long. It is time to arise and shine! Go in the strength that God has given you mighty men and women of valor. It is your time!

Nate and Christy Johnston
Everyday Revivalists
Email: nateandchristy@everydayrevivalists.com
Website: www.everydayrevivalists.com

Nate Johnston is a revivalist and worshipper who has a heart to see sons and daughters unleashed into passionate friendship with God and an effective supernatural lifestyle. Through his ministry "Everyday Revivalists," he teaches on intimacy and hearing God's voice which was birthed from a hunger for authentic, real, and powerful relationship with Jesus. Christy Johnston was born and raised in Australia. After living the majority of her life plagued with insecurity and fear, she came to learn the power of her identity in Christ. She now lives with the mandate to breathe fresh hope and life into Gods sons and daughters through her passion of writing, uncovering the truths of living in Grace and freedom through our identity in Christ. Nate and Christy have two daughters, Charlotte and Sophie, and currently live on the Gold Coast in Australia.

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