“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Deaut. 31:6.
The famed World War II tank commander General George Patton said, “Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.” If you give in to your fears, you are on the path to defeat. If instead you stand strong in spite of your fears, you are on the path to victory. And we must never forget that we are not in the battle alone. With the power of God on our side, we cannot be defeated. Most of us would like to be more courageous, to have the strength to stand up to our fears. God doesn't really call the brave, he makes those he calls brave. He places His words in your heart and encourages you to run with it.
Gideon is a perfect example. Gideon is definitely not courageous. When we first meet him in Judges, he’s threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites. We modern readers are liable to miss how strange that little detail is, but any farmer can tell you: it’s absurd. To thresh wheat, you need to toss it way up in the air, so that the wind can catch the lighter, useless stuff—the chaff—and leave the good, heavier grain to fall back down. Wine Presses are underground, completely devoid of wind and with pretty short ceilings. So why is Gideon threshing wheat in a winepress? Because he’s afraid. And yet the angel of the Lord says to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valour was” (Judges 6:12).
Mighty man of valour? The guy hiding in a cave? Apparently so. I find this so beautiful: God doesn’t speak to Gideon based on what he is, but based on what God is going to do with him. That’s how God works, and I’m eternally glad he does. Because that means he doesn’t see me or define me by the condition I’m in. He defines me by what he has determined to make me in Christ. That’s good news. You may be a mess now horrified and messed up in your fear. Thank God, He doesn’t just reward the righteous and courageous; He makes people righteous and courageous. Yield Yourself totally to Him, you are on your path to limitless possibilities.
FURTHER READING:
“Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!” Psa. 31:24.
"When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?" Psa. 56:3-4.
DECLARATION:
Dear Abba Father, thank You for another day in Your presence. I thank You for the gift of the kind of life You have made available to me. I’m above and not beneath. I’m helped and not conquered. I’m graced to do exploits. I ask that as I step out today, every resources that I need to live the ideal life You have called me to live, is made available in Your word, You have spoken to me, and the anointing upon me. I step out by the anointing and return with sheaves in my hand today in the mighty name of Jesus, amen.
1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN:
Rom. 6:1-23.
Rom. 7:1-25.
Rom. 8:1-39.
QUOTE FOR THE DAY:
“God Doesn't Choose The Courageous, He Makes Men Courageous For The Task.”
