Day Twenty

GOD IS WHO HE SAYS HE IS

God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

—NUMBERS 23:19 NIV

You know who had some serious courage? Gideon. The one from the Bible.

In Judges 6, all the Israelites were misbehaving in serious ways—the kind of ways that separate them from God. The Lord gave them over to their enemies, and they were living in fear—hiding away and being defeated and robbed. Then the Israelites began to cry out to God for rescue. (I know that move, don’t you? Hiding from God when I feel like I’ve messed up but then asking Him to rescue me when I’ve gotten myself in a bad spot.) God decided to show mercy and deliver them, defeating the other armies by using the Israelite army. And Gideon, this unlikely little guy, was about to have a unique call to courage.

Starting in Judges 6:11, we see Gideon threshing his wheat while hiding out in a winepress (instead of separating the wheat in a normal public place). An angel of the Lord appeared and said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior” (Judges 6:12 NIV). This statement surprised Gideon because, well, he was hiding, which is not your typical “mighty warrior” behavior. But the Lord told Gideon that he was the guy who would lead the army to save Israel from the Midianites.

When he heard this, Gideon immediately started explaining to God why he was the wrong guy for the job—he belonged to the weakest clan, and he was the weakest of the weakest clan. You know what was happening there? Gideon was looking at himself and his own abilities rather than looking at God and believing that He is who He says He is.

You are deeply loved and called to be courageous by a God who is perfect and perfectly trustworthy.

You are deeply loved and called to be courageous by a God who is perfect and perfectly trustworthy. If you feel stuck looking at your own shortcomings, look upward to your Jesus, who is exactly who He says He is, who defeated death itself, and who empowers you to be brave.

BE BRAVE: Are you hiding from God right now? You don’t have to hide! God is making you brave day by day.