I love it when the Lord speaks to me from different, unconnected sources. So, I had already started planning this week’s devotionals, know who we are in Christ. Then the sermon yesterday was by a visiting Pastor on Who Are You? It was just confirmation how important this is. You can find the link here, I recommend you listen to it.
For we are God’s own handiwork, His workmanship, recreated in Christ Jesus, born anew, that we may do those good works which God predestined, planned beforehand, for us, taking paths which He prepared ahead of time, that we should walk in them, living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live. Ephesians 2:10
God’s Masterpiece.
So many of us don’t know who we are in Christ. We are saved and we love God. Yet we don’t fully embrace the new life He has for us. The enemy, our Daunters, crowd around us with all the condemnation they can find. It’s so easy to listen to the lies, the accusations, the reminder of mistakes we have made. We need to know who we are in Christ!
You are God’s handiwork created for a purpose that He had prearranged. The path He takes you on has already been prepared ahead of time. Even the paths that are so hard and dangerous. Remember all things work together for good for those that love the Lord. I know you are screaming at me right now, but you don’t understand. There is no way that this can EVER be used for anything good. Everything around me is wrong. I feel forsaken. I’m just going to hide in this cave and hope that I can make it home to Heaven in one piece. Oh, but sweet sister that is not the masterpiece God has for your life.
An Undaunted Hero.
To start I want to visit one of my Undaunted heroes, who was far from undaunted when we meet him. In Judges 6 we meet Gideon. We find him doing the most necessary thing in the most difficult place hiding from the enemy. Similarly, I find myself in this position often.
I don’t like hiding but sometimes you find yourself hiding spiritually because you know how real the threat of the enemy is. You know if you speak up you might lose friends, reputation, jobs, etc. So you keep doing things in a cave, hoping that you can accomplish the task without the enemy seeing you. While you are avoiding the obvious enemy, you opened the door to Spiritual Weariness.
Doing the necessary, the hard way!
You see Gideon was threshing wheat for food in a winepress. Food is essential to life and every time the enemy saw the Israelites had food they would raid them and steal it from them. You know what I’m talking about. You spent a beautiful time in prayer or the Word, or listened to a sermon that just put the fire back into your heart. Then out of nowhere, the Daunter hits you hard and you lose the joy you found.
Back to the threshing wheat process. To do this properly it had to be done in the wide open so that the wind could help in the process. Because the purpose was separating the edible part of the wheat from the chaff. After beating it, they would throw it in the air and the wind would carry the lighter chaff away and the heavier grain would fall to the ground. So a dark, damp cave would not be the place to this.
We all find ourselves in survival mode, in the winepress, but that’s not where you should be. The problem with Gideon is he didn’t know who he was. On the other hand, he definitely knew who his enemy was. However, the key problem for Gideon and most of us is that we don’t know who we are in God.
Know who you are in Christ.
The Angel of the Lord visits Gideon and greets him by saying,
The Lord is with you, you mighty man of fearless courage. Judges 6:12
Gideon’s immediate response shows he has no clue who God is and who he is in God. Immediately he throws out God isn’t with us. Yes in the past He has been great but just look at us now we are a forsaken people. However, I love how the Angel replies.
Go in this your might, and you shall save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you? Judges 6:14
Gideon probably started thinking, “might?” “God has sent me?” I can imagine him completely perplexed thinking the whole situation is insane. And his response shows what is in his heart, his lack of knowledge of who he is in God.
Oh Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Behold, my clan is the poorest in Manessah, and I am the least in my father’s house. Judges 6:15
Gideon shows two things in this response. Firstly, he has no idea who God is. Secondly, he only looks at his position, talents, and place in this world as qualifications for recruitment to God’s army. Do you do that? You want to serve God but you don’t feel you are equipped. I have a news flash for you, God very rarely uses the equipped to do ANYTHING!
What God sees!
In Gideon’s story, God doesn’t refer to him as who he is right now and even who Gideon claims to be as the least of the least. No God refers to him as the man he is making him into. A man of fearless courage, valor, a brave man, a mighty hero, a strong warrior. When we get to the end of Gideon’s story this is who he is. On the journey God took Gideon on to defeat the Midianites He kept stripping away the layers until Gideon knew it was all God.
So yes I know your life might be upside down, back to front, every which direction but right, but that’s not what God sees. You need to know who you are in Christ. He sees His masterpiece. His beautiful undaunted masterpiece, that He has called. The Lord is with you, you mighty woman of fearless courage. Pick up your sword! You are ready for the battlefield through His might.
