God sees your worth more than you do

TODAY'S READING: Judges 6
I want you to imagine the scene. The President of the United States has asked the military to assemble a special strike team to hunt down Usama Bin Laden. Upon hearing his assignment, a top Army officer goes to a remote town in Minnesota and finds a man who built a home out in the forest where he felt he could be safe from any potential terrorist attacks.
He knocks on the door and the man timidly answers. The first words the General speaks are, "Great soldier, the President wants you!"I would imagine this would be the response of the man. "Excuse me? Are you talking to me?"
Then imagine that man becoming the person who leads this elite team into battle and finding Bin Laden. Sounds crazy? Oh, yeah. Improbable? Absolutely.
But with God...mission accomplished!This is what happens with Gideon. A man who is afraid and offers up every excuse he can come up with. Gideon even challenges God to prove to him that He is calling Gideon and is with him.
Do you ever do that with God? Here is what it might sound like.
"God, if you really want me to take this job, give me a sign."
"God, if I am not supposed to do this, show me."
"God, if you are here, make it clear to me."
God is so patient with us. Gideon and God's conversation provides proof and one of the funniest exchanges in the Bible.
"Gideon replied, 'If you are truly going to help me, show me a sign to prove that it is really the LORD speaking to me. Don't go away until I come back and bring my offering to you.'
The LORD answered, 'I will stay here until you return.'"
Do you see the humor in that? God says He will wait somewhere for Gideon. If you are not at least smiling, read it again. God tells a human He will wait somewhere for him!
But don't we sometimes talk to God the same way? And not always for good reasons.
"God, wait here until I am ready to commit my life to you."
"God, can you hold on until I finish enjoying my youth."
"God, stay here while I go over there and commit this sin."
But God patiently says, "I will stay here until you return."
He waits, sometimes painfully, as we sell ourselves short.
We are willing to give into self-doubt and dissatisfaction while God looks on and says that we were made to be more.
Paul writes, "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." (Ephesians 2:10)
Maybe God never intended for Gideon to be a wheat thresher. God may have created Gideon to be a warrior but he sold himself short. Gideon decided to be something less than God intended.
Are you selling yourself short? Does God want you to be more than you are? Has God given you abilities that are still unrealized?
If we examine our lives carefully, we may find that we are keeping ourselves from something much greater. For the first twenty-five years of my life I was hiding in sales, management, and a bunch of other places. But then God opened my eyes and called me to a place I never could have imagined.
Open your ears to God and listen for what He has in store for you. Don't wait for Him to come to you and say, "Mighty warrior, the Lord is with you." Go to Him and ask, "What do you have in mind for me?"
The answer may fill you with fear and take you somewhere you never expected. But in the end, you will find that place God intended for you from the beginning. And that will be more than worth the journey.

shine!
Jason