Believing What You Are Told

And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!” Judges 6:12 (NKJV)

Often times we struggle to believe what God says about us because of the things we see, feel, hear, and experience. Gideon could not begin to digest the truth of what was being told to him (i.e., being a mighty man of valor) because everything in his life seemed to being saying just the opposite. Troubles had befallen his nation, God’s miracles were no longer apparent, he felt forsaken, his people were at the mercy of the Midianites, his family was poor and he was the least important within that family, and he could see nothing in himself that God could use that would allow him to be the leader God was calling him to be. In his opinion, he did not LOOK like a mighty man of valor, FEEL like a mighty man of valor, or BELIEVE he was a mighty man of valor. In essence, he was telling God, “You are wrong about me. You are mistaken. Your words cannot be true.”

While I may not come right out and say such a thing to God, He knows when the thoughts are there. God knows the list of arguments I have formulated in my mind that hinder me from reveling in the truth. He knows how I have excluded myself from being the intended recipient of His words to me. He knows the reason for the thoughts, the root of the thoughts, the wounds that feed the thoughts, and the firm grip the thoughts have on me. Yet, all of His knowledge does not stop Him from continuing to “woo me out of the jaws of distress into a spacious place without restriction!” He knows my only defense against such mindsets is to proclaim the truth and allow it to formulate my thought life.

The first chapter of Ephesians is a good place to start. It tells me I am blessed, chosen, called, blameless, adopted, loved, redeemed, forgiven, sealed, and empowered. His Word assures me that He has a plan and purpose for my life and that He will finish what He has started in me. My identity, security, and future all rest in Him. As I take in these truths, believe them, and live according to them, I will see the list of my own making begin to lose its credibility with me. Truth always dispels lies like light always dispels darkness!

Father, these are not just nice thoughts that are intended to comfort me on an off day. They are meant to revolutionize my life! I want to take Your Word over my own feelings, thoughts, and ideas. Amen.