Read the full transcript below:
So he (Gideon) 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. And the LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.” – Judges 6:15-16
Have you ever felt under qualified? Well, you’re in good company. The story of Gideon is an encouragement for those who feel like nobodies. It’s also a great reminder about how God uses nobodies to do amazing things.
You can go down the list of people in the Bible who God chose to use in spite of their perceived shortcomings. While we may think that we have nothing to offer Him, God sees things differently.
Think of David, who was anointed to be the King of Israel at 17 years old. His own family thought so little of him, that while Jesse presented his sons to Samuel as potential candidates to be the next King, David was left out in the field guarding the sheep. His brothers mocked at the idea that he could defeat Goliath, but David understood that he didn’t need the strength on his own because God would do the work.
Sometimes God even takes His chosen leaders through difficulty to weed out any flaws in their character. I think of the story of Moses. Originally Moses tried to become the deliverer of Israel by his own hand, but he ended up fleeing to the wilderness after killing an Egyptian. We get into trouble when we decide that we’re going to fill God in on how qualified we are to do this or that. We think that WE should be up there teaching or leading worship, as though God would be missing out on something special if He overlooked us. That is the mindset we are trained to have in this world. We are so self-involved.
We walk around as though our natural body odor permeates with hints of eucalyptus and honey extract, while in actuality it more closely resembles the stench of an Italian hoagie.
God could’ve just as easily elevated Moses to be the next Pharaoh, and then he would have had the authority to set the children of Israel free. But instead, He chose to work in a different way. He didn’t want the great and powerful Moses to lead His people; He wanted the man who had spent the last 40 years of life leading sheep in the wilderness to eventually lead HIS sheep through the wilderness.
God used that experience in Moses’ life to change his view of himself. He went from thinking “I’m the guy,” to “Why me?” In the same way, Gideon responded to God’s call with a “Why me?” The reason God chose Gideon is because he was an unlikely hero. God loves to use the person that no one would expect. That way He is glorified and His glory is evident to all. Gideon had such a low opinion of himself that he asked God to give him a sign, thinking that God must have chosen the wrong man. Don’t we do the exact same thing? “God, if you really want me to do this, then ______.” Sound familiar? “God, I can’t share Your love with this person because I don’t know all the answers.” In other words, we say “I’m not capable; You must’ve gotten it wrong.” If you feel like God made a mistake when He picked you, DON’T! God does not make mistakes!
God has placed a calling on all of our lives. We need to realize that it is not because we have some talent or skill that God needs in order to fulfill His purposes. In fact, we may have no ability in and of ourselves to even remotely accomplish our calling. But don’t be discouraged, because God is in the business of making something out of nothing. He chooses to use the unqualified to do quality work for His Kingdom.
“For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, [are called]. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty…” – 1 Corinthians 1:26-27