As God’s people, we are called to be courageous. Courage is the catalyst for change. It allows us to exercise faith and walk in uncertain places and see God come through. Some people are naturally bold, but to be courageous spiritually, it takes more.
We have many examples of courageous people in the Bible. In the next few devotionals, I will share about God’s sources of courage and how courage allowed His people to face obstacles and fulfill God’s purpose!
God’s call and promise
Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lordis with you, you mighty man of valor!”
Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”
Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?”
So he 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 6:11-16
Gideon had been faced with continual disappointments in life. His people had been in tough predicament for years. Discouragement over a long period of time has a way of impacting our identities and making us feel weak and inadequate.
In the midst of it all, the Lord met Gideon and began to speak to him about seeing him as a mighty man of valor. He told Gideon that they were going to defeat the Midanites. Gideon had doubts about himself and about God. He had felt forsaken by God and did not think that he could save Israel. The Lord encouraged him again by telling him that He was going to be with Gideon and that He saw him as a mighty man.
The good news is that the Lord sees our potential far better than we ever can. When God gives us His words of affirmation, they make us feel six inches taller. His promises embolden us and redefine us as capable and powerful! His word spoken over us establishes our identity.
The first thing that God asked Gideon to do was to tear down the altar made for Baal and replace it with an altar for God. The Israelites had to be realigned back to God. The Lord also realigns our relationship with Him. We cannot be courageous and double minded at the same time. We cannot have the love of the world and the love of God in our hearts and think that we can be powerful in His kingdom.
Gideon continued to do what God instructed him, and He saw God’s promise fulfilled. The very man who saw himself as the least in his family was able to gain the victory God promised.
