“The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.” (Judges 6:11-16 NIV)
God calls Gideon, gives him an identity and sends him for an important task fully trusting him, because He had created, prepared and chosen him. However Gideon refuses this plan and the way he sees himself is very insignificant, Gideon does not believe in him, nor in his ability, he does not trust that he can achieve everything that God is assigning and promising.
There are 3 things we see in Gideon’s attitude:
Lack of identity: Gideon was not clear about his identity, he did not see himself as God saw him, he had a very low self-concept and his self-esteem was low.
Complaint: Gideon is filled with complaint in his heart, with negativism and anger, he does not see the power and strength that God is giving him.
Comparison: Gideon began to compare himself to his ancestors, believing that the wonders that had happened in the past were not possible for him or his family.
Living in the past: Gideon thought that only in the past had they seen the glory of God, he did not believe in the promise that God was giving him in the present and future.
Gideon’s attitude is only a reflection of our life, this happens to us many times when God gives us promises, when God assigns us for something within His purpose, we only see our defects, weaknesses, and we continue dragging our past.
God tells Gideon that he will be able to achieve EVERYTHING he promises him because He will be with him, not because of his strength, ability or family but because of the presence of God. Something incredible happens when we learn to see ourselves as God sees us, created and designed by Him, God believes in us, in what we can achieve from His hand, because He is the God of the impossible, extraordinary and supernatural.
God speaks to our hearts and wants to teach us that it is not by our strength, by our ability, by our achievements, titles, goods, but that we can achieve EVERYTHING by HIS PRESENCE. The promises, dreams and requests will come true because He is with us, by His grace and favor in our life and family.
