JU6-14: How God Sees Us Is Usually NOT How We See Ourselves

“The angel of Adonai appeared
to him and said to him:
‘You valiant hero!
Adonai is with you!'”
-Judges 6:12

So we’re told the Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon under an Oak, Pistachio or Terebinth tree depending on whatever English translation of the Bible you’re reading.

It doesn’t really matter because that particular detail isn’t important.

What IS important are the first words that came out of the Angel of the Lord’s mouth when he spoke to Gideon and said…

“You valiant hero!”

Why was this declaration so significant?

Because as far as we can tell, there wasn’t anything special about Gideon.

He was just your average run-of-the-mill Israelite who was part of a downtrodden and oppressed population.

I’m sure Gideon was quite shocked as well.

There’s a major spiritual lesson here folks.

It is this:

How God views us is normally NOT how we view ourselves.

When God called Gideon a “valiant hero”, He was making a prophetic statement informing Gideon who he was about to become.

Even though it seemed so unlikely at the time.

Here we have a man who was hiding from invaders who had looted and pillaged his family.

A man who was barely surviving.

A man who had been reduced to threshing wheat in a winepress.

He certainly didn’t think he was anything special.

Yet the Lord saw Gideon in the light of his role in the Kingdom of Heaven.

He saw him as a “valiant hero” who would soon lead the Israelites into battle.

It just hadn’t occurred yet.

And the same goes for you my friend who is reading this.

God also sees you in the awesome way in which He created you and for who you really are.

He doesn’t view you through the lens of how you’ve behaved in your life…whether you’ve been a drug addict, a whoremonger, an alcoholic or whatever.

In the days of my youth, I never could have in a million years predicted the Lord would plant an undying passion in my heart for His Word and the people of Israel to the point where I’d wake up early every morning at the break of dawn to blog about it for over 6 years now and counting.

Understand the Lord also sees you as a “valiant hero”.

But if you’re going to fulfill that destiny, you have to trust God and believe Him.

That’s one of the main reasons many of us struggle with feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem

It’s because we fail to see ourselves as God sees us.

Most people’s identity is all wrapped up in the type of work they do.

“I’m a lawyer”.

“I’m a doctor”.

“I’m a salesman”.

However, that is in no way how the Lord views you.

The Lord created you for a purpose and gave you certain talents He wants you to exercise for His kingdom.

And He also gave you a free will.

Which means you can choose to exercise your God-given talents or not.

Many people unfortunately bury their talents in the sand…letting the fear of what other people think get the better of them.

Don’t be a crowd pleaser.

Because the secret to happiness and deep fulfillment in life is being who God created you to be.

Instead of trying to be what the world, society or even your parents want you to be.

Over and out.