Good Morning All,
Judges 6:15; “And he said to him,
“Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in
Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
This was Gideon’s response to God when
Gideon was called to be a judge (leader) of the people of Israel. It sort of sounds familiar, doesn’t it? All we have to do is change three or four
parts and it is a very common sentence.
“Please, ______ how can I_______ I am from a small congregation, and I
am the least important one there.” You
can fill in the blanks and change the descriptions. We might be new to the church or just got a
new job, or we lack time; then we add the final qualifier besides, I am not
that good, there is someone better, I’ve never done that, etc. take your pick.
This isn’t meant as a criticism, just an
observation. I do the same thing. Wouldn’t it be nice if Christianity came with
a boost in our confidence? God could zap
us with extra confidence, and we would always be able to give that good
account, to answer any question at any time.
Yet we often wobble when our shoulder is tapped. We often demurely beg off when asked to
serve. Some of it is humility, some of
it is fear, and some of it is a doubt that exists in us.
We all have the “doubt card” and we play it
often. When faced with a new situation,
most of us are somewhat hesitant. This
isn’t always a bad thing. A little doubt
can be healthy for us especially when we doubt our ability and skills. The power of salvation, or of witnessing or
of doing good works does not lie within us but rather begins outside of us in
the person of Christ.
When we doubt ourselves, we see that we
are unable to accomplish anything. It is
then that we need to rely on God for all our needs; that we live by faith. Faith is living in a daring, confidence in
God’s grace. It is trusting in His
promise to provide for us in all our needs.
We often fear giving a witness to our faith; afraid we’ll say the wrong
thing. Yet God promises to speak for us
at that time. Keep it simple and
short. We don’t need to dazzle anyone
just give the witness to what you know.
Jesus died for us so that we could be brought back into God’s design. Jesus
died so that I can live in the loving arms of God.
We may feel little or insignificant in
this world and to this world we may be very insignificant. Yet to God you are very important; we are the
ones whom God chose to let his Son die for.
So as the world feeds into our insecurities, God is overcoming them with
his grace. When the world tells us that
we can’t do it; God tells us he already has.
We are called to be God’s witnesses, and we can do it because of the
love that Christ has for us and because of the Spirit which He fills us
with. No one can ever take us from God’s
love, no matter how small you feel; God surrounds you with his loving and
gracious arms. Trust his promises and
trust his mercies and you can do whatever He wants you to do.
Dear Father, we are
often slow to answer your call to serve.
Forgive us. Give us the faith to
trust in your promises and the confidence to do your will. Lead us in the path of your
righteousness. In Jesus’ precious name
we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
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