Judges 6:12 (ESV)

“And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.’”

When we meet Gideon in this passage, he’s not exactly looking heroic. He’s hiding in a winepress (basically a pit in the ground), threshing wheat in secret so the Midianites wouldn’t find him. (And no, he wasn’t a hobbit, though the image fits, and so does my very clever title.)

By any metric, Gideon was not a “mighty man of valor.” He was fearful, cautious, and simply trying to survive under oppression. Some might even call him a coward. Hardly the makings of an epic adventure story, right? A man hiding in a hole because he’s afraid.

Record Scratch. Freeze Frame. Stop Here and focus.

He was what? Afraid.
And with good reason, as the Midianites were ruthless oppressors. His fear was a human response to real danger. But here’s the beauty: God met him in that fear, not after he overcame it. The Lord didn’t wait for Gideon to climb out of the hole on his own – He sent a messenger to call him out.

God saw something in Gideon that Gideon couldn’t yet see in himself. The angel’s greeting wasn’t sarcasm; it was prophetic. God was calling Gideon not as he was, but as he would become when empowered by the Lord. Scripture shows us again and again that God calls the fearful, the unqualified, and the hidden to rise in His strength.

“God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called.”

Let’s Take it Back to Hobbits

As an unrepentant J.R.R. Tolkien fan, I can’t help but think of my favorite creatures in all of literature: the Hobbits. They live comfortably, and who can blame them? That life of peace and second breakfasts sounds wonderful. I’ll admit, I’m a bit “hobbit-like” myself. My husband even calls me one, but I suspect that has less to do with my love of armchairs and good books and more to do with the fact that I’m 5’4″ to his 6’1″. Semantics. I’ll take it.

Sometimes the “holes” we find ourselves in aren’t dug by fear but by comfort. Bilbo Baggins was there. He had food, warmth, wealth, and even a gardener (and honestly, I’d like one too). But then Gandalf showed up, much like the angel of the Lord, and said, “I’m looking for someone to share in an adventure.” Bilbo resisted, of course. Who wouldn’t? The hole was comfortable. Safe. Familiar.

But if Bilbo had stayed there, he never would’ve discovered courage, friendship, or the larger story he was meant to be part of.

Reflection:

What “hole” are you in today: fear, doubt, exhaustion, or even comfort?

God isn’t waiting for you to pull yourself together. He meets you right where you are, just as He met Gideon. He calls you out, not to shame you, but to shape you.

For you, it probably won’t be leading an army against the Midianites, but it will be something God-sized. Something only He can empower you to do.

So talk to Him there, in the hole. Because with God, even holes can become starting points for heroes.