Session 19

Who does God say you are?

From Preparing Your Heart to Lead: A 28-Day Devotional

If you had told Gideon that he would have become a Bible hero talked about for generations to come, he would have been more shocked than anybody. God met Gideon right where he was, working in his day-to-day job and called him to more.  In Judges, God calls Gideon to save the Israelites from their oppressors. An angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon when he was working in a winepress threshing wheat. The angel began, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”  

Mighty warrior? Gideon was completely shocked. He was far from a mighty warrior in his eyes. He kept questioning the angel. He was positive that God had picked the wrong guy.  He was the least in his family! How could this be right? Surely, there was a mistake.Gideon didn’t look in the mirror and see a leader, but God did. God saw more in Gideon than Gideon saw in himself, and through this experience, Gideon found his true identity.

Like many of us, Gideon defined himself by his circumstances. He assumed he was who people said he was, who he felt like he should be. But God calls each of us to more. God has uniquely and wonderfully crafted each one of us and given us a purpose in His kingdom. Not just the preachers, missionaries, worship leaders, but all of us.

Like Gideon, our feelings do not have to dictate our reality. Gideon didn’t feel like a leader, but God responded to Gideon’s doubt by saying, “Am I not sending you?”  

God is saying the same thing to you today. Because God is behind us, we can be leaders, world-changers, and mighty warriors! God is able to make us mighty for His kingdom, but we have to be willing to say “yes” and believe.

Reflect:

• Do you see yourself as a leader? Why or why not?
• How would you respond if God called you a “mighty warrior”?
• Where might God be calling you to be a “mighty warrior” in your day-to-day life?