I know my weaknesses and I’m aware of the areas in which I struggle. Even the boldest of us is taunted by our spiritual enemy with words like, “Who do you think you are? Why would God ever use you? Look at your weaknesses.” Maybe you’ve never faced those challenges but I certainly have. The problem is that we too often agree with the devil.
That was the case with Gideon in the Old Testament. He became one of Israel’s noted leaders, but not because he had a positive view of himself. God found him threshing wheat in a winepress. Of course, that’s not where wheat was to be threshed. He was there because he was timidly hiding his wheat harvest from the marauding Midianites—a tribe that was mercilessly oppressing God’s people at the time. God addressed him with the unexplainable title, “Mighty warrior.” Gideon began to protest. He saw himself as a timid, fearful farmer who was hiding from his enemy. He wasn’t a valiant, courageous fighter. He was hiding in a wine press. He proceeded to list his disqualifications. God concluded the conversation by rejecting Gideon’s small view of himself and his heritage.
“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?’ ‘But Lord,’ Gideon asked, ‘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 together’ ” (Judges 6:14-16).
That is so typical of how we see ourselves. We know our weaknesses better than anyone does and we are too ready to identify ourselves by them. We know how small we are in the scheme of things and quickly disqualify ourselves by appealing to our poor images of ourselves.
That’s not how God sees us. He called Gideon a “mighty warrior.” Where did that come from? Certainly, not from what Gideon was doing in the winepress. What would have been visible to any observer was Gideon, the timid, fearful farmer. That’s what he thought of himself and that’s what any of us would have thought of him. God saw something else. He saw a “mighty warrior.” That seems to defy explanation. Maybe this is to let us know that God doesn’t see us as we see ourselves.
The beauty of this story is that God does see what we can’t see. He sees what we will become. William Barclay made a pertinent comment: “It’s interesting to me how Jesus looks at men. He does not only see what a man is; he also sees what a man can become. He sees not only the actualities in a man; he also sees the possibilities…. Jesus sees us not only as we are, but also as we can be; and he says, ‘Give your life to me, and I will make you what you have it in you to be.’ ”
Don’t be deceived by what you think of yourself. Believe what God says about you and become the person God knew you can be.
