“The Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon.” (Judges 6:34)
Once again an army of Midianites, Amalekites and other peoples from the east enters the land of Israel to plunder it. This is the moment for Gideon to strike! But he doesn’t have to do it in his own strength. The Spirit of the Lord equips him. He empowers him to act as a leader. Gideon assembles an army to attack the enemy, and the men who are called to the battle do indeed join him. They apparently respect Gideon’s leadership, even though his own clansmen recently demanded his death when he had destroyed the altar of their idol.
Gideon is not the only one who was equipped by God’s Spirit for his task. The same happened to other leaders, for example, Othniel (Judges 3:9-10), Samson (Judges 13:24-25; 14:6) and King David (1 Samuel 6:10-13). God’s Spirit gave them the extraordinary courage, wisdom and strength needed to lead the people and fight the battle against the enemy.
After the Lord Jesus was on earth and returned to heaven, He poured out the Holy Spirit even more abundantly. Every believer is equipped by Him – not always for a special task, but for a life to God’s glory and for the battle against sin and Satan.
Is God’s Spirit a reality for you? How does that manifest itself concretely in your life? For what has He equipped you?