God sees you differently than you see yourself

By Robert Hurtgen

May is not only for showers and flowers but also graduations. All of our graduates, high school and college, are excited about their bright futures. In Judges, Chapter 6, however, we meet a young man named Gideon who is not excited about his future. When we first meet him, he is hiding in a cave thrashing out wheat so that the marauders who are ravaging his homeland, taking and consuming all in their path, will not take this portion of food as well. Gideon is living in difficult times.

Hiding in this cave, God comes to Gideon, "And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, 'The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor'" (Judges 6:12). But there is nothing about Gideon's life that says he is mighty or he is acting as a fearless man.

In the passage Gideon, who does not realize this is an angel speaking to him, has to be wondering, dismisses the messenger questioning where the Lord is, because he and his people are starving. Gideon could easily be saying, "Who in the world is this guy talking to? There is nothing mighty or heroic about me. Either there is someone one else in this cave, or this guy went to the wrong address."

This angelic greeting reminds us though that God does not see Gideon as he sees himself. God sees who Gideon will become long before Gideon even knows who he is.

God knows your future before you can even imagine it. He sees you and all the days of your life. He knows the choices you will make that cause you to be the person he longs for you to be and the choices you will make that press you away from his purposes for you. God sees who you will become even before you know who you are.

God intervened in Gideon's life, which changed the entire course of his life. Gideon reluctantly followed the Lord's plan. Each time Gideon obeyed the Lord his confidence, and his faith, grew. We are the same. The more we trust, the more we follow, the greater our faith grows. The more our confidence grows. God intervened and changed the direction of Gideon's life. Gideon's trust and obedience in the Lord impacted all those around him. One day, one step at a time.