Lately I have been going through a self-evaluation and I haven't enjoyed seeing what the Spirit has been revealing. Sometimes we get stuck in auto-pilot and live without thinking. That is not Yahweh's plan for us. We are not a bunch of robots. He set us free through Jesus Christ so that every day we can make decisions, understanding those decisions and glorifying him through the process. You see, our Father sees us differently than we see ourselves.
When I look at any of my children I not only see their current situation, I also see their full potential. As their loving father, it is my desire to see them grow into that potential. Our heavenly Father sees us in the same way. He sees our current condition but he also sees the potential he has placed in us and it is that potential he desires to assist us to grow into. Consider Gideon for a moment.
It was the age of the judges and Israel kept moving away from Yahweh. They kept falling on their face and Yahweh had to keep picking them up. At this moment they were beat down by the Midianites, left destitute and in constant fear. This is the reason we find Gideon hiding in a wine press, threshing his wheat. He was part of a failed society, hiding in fear from an enemy Yahweh had commanded them to defeat. Yet, Yahweh did not see a coward hiding in that wine press but instead a man with the potential to do great things in obedience:
And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” (Judges 6:12)
Of course Gideon looked around and said, "Yah, right, then why are we in this situation?" I have paraphrased it a bit, but the reaction is not dissimilar to how we feel at times when someone speaks into our situation with an encouraging word. But the secret here is the part, "the LORD is with you". When the angel spoke again he did not tell Gideon to do anything special, to go train, to improve himself; he told him to go just as he was:
“Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” (v. 14)
Again the emphasis is on the LORD and not Gideon, "Have I not sent you?" Again Gideon's reaction is not unlike our own, "I have nothing to offer". I am the least of the least. I am not qualified. You've got the wrong person. I hear Moses' excuses coming out again, and Yahweh's response is as it always will be:
“Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.” (v.16)
Your worth and your potential is found in your relationship with Jesus Christ and all that our Father is looking from us is our obedience. He doesn't pick the most talented, the best looking, the richest, the smartest. He doesn't need or want any of those things. He is only looking for children who have a desire to obey because all the equipping comes from him anyway.
What is brilliant about you is that Jesus loves you and is one with you. You are in him and he is in you and you are both in the Father. He asks you to turn away from your selfish vision of yourself and understand the potential of your beauty because he is in you and desires to pour out his blessings through you. Mighty "man" of valour, there is no reason for you to be hiding in that "wine press" regardless of its form because Jesus is with you and you will defeat the giants in the strength that you have because the battle belongs to our King.
No comments:
Post a Comment