by Tina Whittington, Vice President of Students for Life of America & SAFL Program Advisor
Verse(s): “Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!’ Gideon said to Him, ‘O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.’ Then the Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?’ So he said to Him, ‘O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.'” – Judges 6:11-16
Reflection: I know that God has planned victory over abortion — I know this to the core of who I am. These are, after all, His children whose lives are being lost through the act of abortion. And these children are also “the least of these” among us who Jesus called us to love.
Yet, in the past I found myself like Gideon – hiding in my winepress threshing my wheat so that I would not be discovered by the enemy. Sometimes, in the case of abortion, I have even found myself hiding from my friends, not wanting to enter into a difficult conversation or confrontation.
When I first felt the calling to enter into pro-life work I even questioned the Lord like Gideon: I am not the most equipped, I am not the most eloquent, and Lord, I am weak. Please consider sending someone else. I think I felt this way because I did not understand one basic principle of God’s victory over abortion: it is His. This victory will be His victory, in His timing, in the way that He sees fit.
We are called to be vessels of that victory – to obey and act in love towards mothers-in-crisis and their preborn children, to the fathers of those children who are oftentimes confused and afraid to act, and even to those inside the abortion clinic doors whose misplaced compassion or past-abortion experience has compelled them to offer abortion as the solution to a family-in-crisis.
Just like Gideon, you may be feeling weak. Maybe you are questioning your calling to the preborn, maybe all you can see is the Goliath of abortion instead of a path to victory.
But I want to encourage you today. Because I believe the Lord has said to us, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat abortion.” You see, because He is with us when we are on the front lines in prayer, sidewalk counseling a young woman or talking to the clinic worker, abortion will be defeated.
If you continue reading in Judges, you will find that Gideon was called out of hiding and into leadership – his victory over the Midianites was not man’s victory but the Lord’s. He did not succeed because of power, might, or a large army; he succeeded because God was with him and gave him the right men to fight and the right plans for victory.
Call to Action: As you stand in prayer today and advocate for life on the sidewalks outside of death’s doors, you are a vessel of God’s victory over abortion — and I hope your faith is both stretched and strengthened! Thank you for getting out of the winepress and onto the front lines where the Gospel of Life and Love most needs to be shared. Be bold and trust in His victory!