You Have Enough
Check out the sermon above to help you in your journey of walking out the calling God has placed on your life.
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Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!” “But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!” The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”
Judges 6:14-16 NLT
The psalmist reminds us that the heavens declare the glory of God. We can learn a lot about God and how He designed us by studying the vast world He created around us. When you look at the creation of this world, you'll notice an interesting trend. The Creator expertly crafted each living thing with everything it would need to thrive in the environment it would be placed in. God was intentional about making sure that each animal had what it would need to prosper in the places it was meant for. Each animal has the necessary adaptations for its unique assignment.
Their form is ordained with their function in mind. Like a Lego set, they are packaged with all they need to accomplish the goal they were designed with. When God calls someone to something, He also prepares them. if God does that for plants and animals, how much more does He do it for humans, the pinnacle of His creation? Not only were you called to make a real impact, you were crafted with everything you need to prosper on the platforms God has placed you in. Joseph, Daniel, and Ester were given positions necessary for the purposes they were called to. God told Moses to split the Red Sea using what was already in his hand. God used David to defeat Goliath through a skill he had already practiced. 1 Peter 3:1 says we have everything we need for a life that pleases God. You have been called to greatness and given all the power you need to walk in it because of the provision given to those God predestined.
While God has given us purpose and provision, many of us are wasting the potential God put in us because we fail to realize the power we have. God has gifted us with a connection that makes everything He calls us to possible. However, we fail to walk out the plans God has for us because we don't see ourselves the way God sees us. This is what is happening in this story.
We can sympathize with Gideon. For generations, his civilization has been oppressed. The Midianites are literally keeping the Israelites just strong enough to be worth stealing from. So Gideon is in a position where he is hiding from his bullies, but God shows up and refers to him as a mighty man of valor. As God calls him, He looks past what he is doing and calls him to who he was designed to be. God tells Gideon that he was actually designed to be the answer to his people's problems. I believe God is doing the same thing with us. You may be hiding, but God sees past the doubt and fear and is calling you a mighty man or woman of valor. He is communicating with you as if you are who He sees you as. The issue is that we don't view ourselves as God views us. Gideon starts to protest against God’s call on his life because of his own doubts, and logic would lend itself to being on Gideon's side. Gideon is literally hiding in a cave, oppressed, and born into an idol-worshipping family. He is called to lead in a way he has never seen or come close to. But God has put this potential in him and is calling it out of him!
While humans are faulty, finite, and fickle, God never seems to describe you as an individual sport athlete. What I mean is God never seems to label you based on what you can do or are doing by yourself, He labels you based on what the two of you can do as a team. God can call you to such lofty goals because He was never expecting you to do it alone.
What I love about kids is that they have a sense of unapologetic belief. Kids aren't as cynical as us. They assume everything will work out for their good as others bend around them and their needs. The kids at my church will confidently act like they have food when people around them have food. Babies will just start grabbing food off their parent's plates, assuming what they have is theirs. They'll just assume that the belongings of others will be shared with them. I love how I'll walk down to children's church or go to the gym for basketball practice and the kids will start talking trash before the games even start, not because they know what they are doing, but because they assume I do and that I'll join their team to help them. They believe that if Pastor Pace joins your team for bible bowl or basketball, victory is certain no matter how inexperienced the other members of the team are. God isn't calling you to believe in the game based on your ability or insight or to believe you'll eat because you got the food yourself. He's calling you to a sense of confidence because of who will help you. He wants you to have confidence in the call because of who is on your team. God wants us to believe in ourselves because of who we are connected to.
You are called to impact your family and community, but it starts through an understanding of your identity. While Gideon has doubts and fears, he still starts to walk through this faith journey. We think of the big battle Gideon fought against the Midianites when we think of his story but that's not where he starts. Before you can impact the greater community, you have to be honest with your own house. God calls him to start in his own house. He tears down the idols of his own family. He brings a new standard to his own house. I can imagine this was scary. I can imagine the fear of being misunderstood as he walks out a life that is different than what they're used to. But his family actually becomes one of his biggest assets in this story. Your family may not understand you as you walk out this path. They may not get you at first. This battle may be even scarier than shining your light for your community. There is often a fear that we won’t be accepted but that’s why seeing yourself the way God sees you is so important. It’s easier to shine when you are moving from a place of already knowing you are accepted and not a place of feeling like you are fighting for or risking your state of acceptance.
I’m not telling you to be disrespectful and attacking towards your family. You don’t have to be pushy or mean. Please don’t do that. But don’t allow them to hold you back from who you are called to be. You don’t have to go to the same parties, budget the same, or do relationships the same as the friends and family you grew up around. however, that isn’t a license to be arrogant or mean. Be honoring and sympathetic. I actually believe that you are uniquely designed to be tactful, sympathetic, and honoring to the very people you are a part of. You understand their background, culture, and idiosyncrasies more than anyone. You know how communication and emotion work with them. You are designed to understand this balance of boundary and belonging. You can love without being intimate in every way. You can honor without being affirming of every mindset or action. One of my mentors brought up this balance by referring to two commands in scripture. We are both called to leave our mothers and cleave to our wives and then instructed to honor our mother and father. The first verse isn’t just about marriage. It’s about the call all of us have to move forward. At some point, you will be called to mature past your family and friends in some ways as God begins to use you as a leader in their lives. While you are called to leave your past and cling to your future, you are also reminded to always honor. Growth should be far from disrespect. You may have to have some real boundaries and adult conversations. You may have to have to make some real decisions. But the pain of a tactful and honoring conversation is less than the pain of continued friction. Surgery is better than walking with a limp forever. This is why clarity on your call from God is so important. You have to be certain on who you are before you can really stand in it. God wants us to grow in belief enough to not change when we come home. Your confidence and consistency in your call will often bring the clarity and understanding you are afraid won't be there. Don't live a double life, trying to change the world before you stand in your family.
Don't hide your love for God because you are afraid that old relationships won't get it. They may be the very people God has uniquely designed you to reach. You are expertly crafted to reach the current and former versions of yourself. You understand their biases, fears, doubts, and culture. You are the perfect candidate to explain what God can do practically in their lives. God is calling you to impact, and it often starts with familial influence.
I get that this can be scary but it starts with the first lesson in this story. We have to recognize who we are in Christ. We have to believe in the power we have. You are a mighty man of valor and have been prepared with all you need to stand in that identity. Mighty trees are able to stand through storms because of their vast root systems. Do you have the grounding in your identity to be able to stand as a leader in your family and community? It starts with identity. If God is with you no one can be against you. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is in you. God’s call on your life means something, but you have to act like it.
God tells Gideon that he will fight the Midianites as if he is fighting one man, and I believe this isn't just pointing to the ease of the fight. This is pointing to the fact that there is one main battle that is stopping Gideon from being the mighty man of valor he is called to be. That is the battle with himself and his own identity. The “one man” we need to fight is often ourselves. If we believed we were who God said we were, it would change every other battle.
Cheetahs have speed. Elephants have size. Gorillas have strength. You have connection. God has given you all that you need to prosper in the communities you are called to because you are in Him. You have enough.
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