Latent Leaders, Hidden Heroes

UV 1788/10000 Latent Leaders, Hidden Heroes
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
Judges 6 v 12
Gideon was hiding from the Midianites and he was threshing the wheat by the winepress. He was afraid of the marauding foes and the damage they could cause to life and stock. Yet the angel of the Lord appeared to him. God hears the groans and sees the suffering of His people who fear and acknowledge Him and sends His anointing on the one He chooses to lead them out of bondage. It was not as if Gideon was a mighty man of valour. He seemed quite the opposite. But the presence of the Lord with him made him a mighty man of valour. That presence made him a brave general and leader of Israel. Gideon’s clansmen or family or father did not see the latent leader in him, the hidden hero. The Lord alone has eyes to see the latent leader, the hidden hero. He is the one who calls forth our potential and uses our latent talents and abilities for His glory.

The Lord sees the hidden hero in each one of us and depending on the response of our hearts, He sends His anointing Spirit. We become clothed with a portion of His almighty or infinite power. He shows us signs and wonders in a variety of ways as He did with Gideon to confirm the anointing and leading of God. Gideon regarded himself as the least in his clan and his father’s house. Our humility signifies our submission to God. Gideon was first given smaller challenges to handle to train and test his courage and leadership as well as to prove the might of God that preserved and protected him against the hostility of his own people. By being faithful in the smaller tests and trials, we allow the hidden hero in us to grow in strength, prowess and courage. The waters of leadership are tested in the storms of life. When we taste the mighty Shekinah power and amazing grace of God in our lives, we automatically develop the courage, the faith, the strength, the confidence, the abilities. Under the old covenant, since a personal relationship with God as Father was not yet feasible, an angel had to appear as an emissary from the Lord. But under the new covenant, our personal relationship through Jesus enables us to have direct and unbroken access to the presence of the Lord. He supplies whatever we need at the point of our need in time and space to overcome the challenge whether in terms of resources, counsel, wisdom, inner qualities of leadership, help in terms of people with the requisite commitment.

The Lord being with us is the source of our success, power, courage and hope. We see a similar metamorphosis or transformation of people in Moses, Elijah, Jonah, David, Peter, Paul, Thomas and many other biblical heroes. Gideon was also called Baal-Perazim or the one who has breakthroughs. It is not as if we would not face barriers, walls, obstacles, problems, challenges, hindrances but the Lord being with us would certainly enables us to have breakthroughs even in the most difficult or impossible situations. We only need to hear a word from the Lord and He will turn our latent leader into a real time leader, the hidden hero into a reality. We need to increase the time and intensity with which we listen to the Lord, to soak in His presence, to drink of His Spirit, to await His calling,His confirmation, His commissioning, His equipping, His enablement, His empowerment, His leading and provision.

Prateep V Philip