Fighting Naked?

Aug. 3

Read: Judges 6:33-35

Fighting Naked?

“But the Spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him...”(v.34)

Have you ever felt like you were being ganged up on? Like there was a group of people set against you? Imagine what it was like for Gideon to look out and see the encampment of soldiers from multiple nations there to destroy the people of God! How do we respond when faced with enemies / those set on destroying us?

In the face of this opposition the scriptures say : “But the Spirit of the Lord CLOTHED Gideon.” What a fascinating way to put it.. to be “clothed” in the Spirit of the Lord. Think about clothing and what it does. Without it we are naked, like Adam and Eve in the garden. (Cf. Gen. 3:7) In our nakedness we are “ashamed”. To be naked is to be vulnerable... to reveal your weakness... to be exposed to the harsh world around you. When the enemy mounts the last thing you want to be is naked ! No one goes into battle naked! The Spirit of the Lord covers over all of this for us. The Spirit of the Lord covers over our insecurities...our vulnerabilities...our weakness. In the face of opposition we call out to the Lord to cloth us in his Spirit.

This is not all though. When the Spirit clothes us we are not afraid to reach out to those around us for help. Notice that Gideon sounds a trumpet to call the other tribes to action. When we are clothed with the Spirit we will always call others into Godly action with us! When the Spirit of the Lord falls upon us - we must “sound the trumpet”.

Today - come to the Lord in your nakedness and you will be CLOTHED with the Spirit of God . This is not all- in Christ you have been given the garment of HIS righteousness. (Is. 61:10) God covers us ... he has our back. Secondly, “sound the trumpet”. You cannot battle the enemy alone and to be clothed in the Spirit is to call others into action. The people of God are victorious when they face the mounting enemy this way. Whatever enemy is stacked against you today - face it / them clothed and with brothers and sisters in Christ by your side. Love you guys. - JDP