Nuts
The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
“But Lord,” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.” Judges 6: 14-16
When the road ahead looks oh so long
And your talents seem so few
Just remember that the mighty oak
Was once a nut like you.
Author Unknown
Sometimes the greatest people have the most humble beginnings. In fact I would say that happens quite often, especially in the Bible. Gideon felt too small for the task at hand. He was not alone. He was actually part of a very auspicious group. Noah, Moses, Jeremiah, Mary and Peter, to name a very few, also felt inadequate to the task at hand. That isn’t false humility. They weren’t capable on their own, of accomplishing what God had planned for them.
Gideon is one of my favorites because of his reaction. “Who me? No, not me. My family is too small and I’m even too small for that crowd. You can’t mean me.” God’s response? “Uh, yeah, I know who you are but I also know who I am.” God told Gideon, I’m big enough for the both of us. Gideon believed God but as the story goes on he still keeps asking God to provide assurances that He is in fact standing beside him.
Have you ever, like Gideon, felt that you were being called to something for which you were not equipped? Do you ever feel like the least of the least of the least? Or even worse do you sometimes feel like a fraud?
Gideon’s family worshipped idols. That had to be some of his thought process too. He knew that his family was not fully devoted to God and yet there was God taking up for them. He was choosing Gideon for great things and choosing him out of a small clan, an even smaller not terribly faithful, hedging their bets, family. Unbelievable right? Wrong. Those not so clean and tidy, not so pulled together, not quite good enough for the real world types are God’s favorite people.
That is great news for me. Like Gideon I come from an, um, hm… less than stellar family and I am the youngest. I was certainly raised to see myself as less than capable and yet God uses me quite often. I’ve never taken on any Midianites or risked my life to bring prophecy anywhere. I’m certainly not on the same page as Moses or Noah but I can and do feel God calling me to things that seem if not impossible at least unlikely.
God doesn’t care if we’re a little nut or a big tree. He cares about our availability, our openness to His plan. Most of the truly great men and women of the Bible looked a lot like acorns when God put His hand on them but today we speak of them with great respect and more than a little awe. So lay your nutty self at God’s feet and let Him do the rest.
“But Lord,” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.” Judges 6: 14-16
When the road ahead looks oh so long
And your talents seem so few
Just remember that the mighty oak
Was once a nut like you.
Author Unknown
Sometimes the greatest people have the most humble beginnings. In fact I would say that happens quite often, especially in the Bible. Gideon felt too small for the task at hand. He was not alone. He was actually part of a very auspicious group. Noah, Moses, Jeremiah, Mary and Peter, to name a very few, also felt inadequate to the task at hand. That isn’t false humility. They weren’t capable on their own, of accomplishing what God had planned for them.
Gideon is one of my favorites because of his reaction. “Who me? No, not me. My family is too small and I’m even too small for that crowd. You can’t mean me.” God’s response? “Uh, yeah, I know who you are but I also know who I am.” God told Gideon, I’m big enough for the both of us. Gideon believed God but as the story goes on he still keeps asking God to provide assurances that He is in fact standing beside him.
Have you ever, like Gideon, felt that you were being called to something for which you were not equipped? Do you ever feel like the least of the least of the least? Or even worse do you sometimes feel like a fraud?
Gideon’s family worshipped idols. That had to be some of his thought process too. He knew that his family was not fully devoted to God and yet there was God taking up for them. He was choosing Gideon for great things and choosing him out of a small clan, an even smaller not terribly faithful, hedging their bets, family. Unbelievable right? Wrong. Those not so clean and tidy, not so pulled together, not quite good enough for the real world types are God’s favorite people.
That is great news for me. Like Gideon I come from an, um, hm… less than stellar family and I am the youngest. I was certainly raised to see myself as less than capable and yet God uses me quite often. I’ve never taken on any Midianites or risked my life to bring prophecy anywhere. I’m certainly not on the same page as Moses or Noah but I can and do feel God calling me to things that seem if not impossible at least unlikely.
God doesn’t care if we’re a little nut or a big tree. He cares about our availability, our openness to His plan. Most of the truly great men and women of the Bible looked a lot like acorns when God put His hand on them but today we speak of them with great respect and more than a little awe. So lay your nutty self at God’s feet and let Him do the rest.
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