And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you? ”So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

Judges 6:12, 14-15 NKJV

One of the things the story of Gideon in Jugdes Chapter 6 reminds me of is that often times, our perception of who we are and what God can do through us is quite limited. Gideon thought of himself as the least in a family that came from the weakest clan in his tribe. However, heaven’s identity of Gideon was “Mighty Man of Valor”.

Two very different and opposing perspectives!

I have found that one of the things God does when He comes to a person is to keep speaking the truth of your identity over you. He will not address you as your experiences, beliefs, people’s opinions or conditioning have taught you to see yourself, rather, He will keep calling you by who He has ordained you to be.

At first, it may be difficult to accept God’s view of us. Maybe like Gideon, we think we are too small, too weak or people have dismissed us, devalued us etc., so we don’t think we have much to contribute or maybe we think we are too broken, too damaged etc., and whatever adjectives we use to perceive ourselves that prevents us from stepping into God’s truth about us. However, all of that do not negate our identity and purpose in God.

It is interesting to see how God was patient with Gideon as he kept trying to verify that this call was truly from God. Even when he was still afraid in Judges Chapter 7, God told him what to do so he could be encouraged.

It happened on the same night that the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, and you shall hear what they say; and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.”

Judges 7: 9 – 11 NKJV

This is the same way God is patient with us through the process of transformation. He knows that our mind is really the battlefield, hence He invites us to sit in His Word consistently so our minds can be renewed. It is only when our minds are renewed by the power of the Word of God that we can begin to enter into God’s view of our identity and purpose. The moment we catch a glimpse of what is on God’s heart and we truly become one with who He says we are, our entire outlook to life and living changes!

Like the angel who came to Gideon, today, I invite you to consider the possibility that there is more to you than what you see, what people have said or done to you or what you have been taught to believe about yourself. Gideon believed God and he went from the seemingly weak man hiding from the oppressors to the warrior who defeated those same oppressors!

There is so much more to you! Do not allow people, situations or circumstances define who you are. Instead, let God download His thoughts concerning you to your spirit and soul by fellowshipping with Him continuously, praying and making the study of your Bible essential practices in your life!

There are many voices and multitude of media trying to give you your identity and sense of purpose. The voice and source you make the loudest in your life will determine the path you follow. So, let God’s voice ring out the closest and loudest in your life!

“Mighty (wo)man of valor”, you have stayed small and scared long enough.

It’s time to see yourself as God sees you and rise into the truth of who God created you to be!