Aligned with the Word of God and Stepping into Purpose
Do you see yourself as valuable? When you consider how God feels about you, do you immediately think about the fact that you are loved by God more than you can imagine? If your mind and heart are aligned with the Bible, you should have answered both of these questions with an absolute and confident, “Yes!”
Aligning your mind and heart with God’s Word is vital to carrying out the plans that God has for your life.
To give you an example of this nugget of wisdom, consider Gideon from the Old Testament, beginning in Judges 6:11. His people had become unfaithful and disobedient to God and were suffering from devastating consequences. Their enemies were looting and destroying all of their crops and livestock. Gideon’s people were on the brink of starvation causing them to repent and pray for God’s help.
Pause and reflect on this situation for a moment. If you were the one to help the Israelites, Gideon’s people, what would you do? My guess is that you would NOT find the least insignificant Israelite to ignite hope and lead a military campaign against the enemy. It may sound foolish, but that’s exactly what God did.
God usually works things out in ways that we would never consider.
God answered the prayers of the Israelites by sending an angel to visit with Gideon. When the angel appeared, Gideon was hiding in a winepress, which was a large hole underground, feebly attempting to thresh wheat. It is important to note that to thresh wheat, Gideon would have needed to have been above ground; so that, the wind could have separated the husk from the edible seed.
“God is with you, O mighty warrior!” the angel greeted.
Gideon was incredulous in his response, “With me?…”
The angel spoke again to Gideon instructing him to go in his strength and to save his people from their enemies.
At one point in his conversation with the angel, Gideon commanded, “Look at me.” Furthermore, he complained about his situation and explained why he couldn’t defend his people. His clan was the smallest of the Israelites, and he was the smallest man within his clan. In one translation of the Bible, Gideon is described as the ‘runt of the litter’.
“But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.” 1 Corinthians 1:27 ESV
Reading further in Judges, you will learn that eventually, Gideon aligned his heart and mind with God. Gideon stopped identifying as a scrawny coward and believed that he was a brave warrior. This enabled him to step into his God-given purpose and miraculously deliver his people from their enemies.
Would Gideon have stepped into his God-given purpose, if he had not listened to the angel?
Probably not. What a tragedy that would have been!
Do you know that you already have everything on the inside of you to accomplish all that God has called you to accomplish? By learning what the Bible says about you, you are placing yourself into a position to step into your God-given purpose.