Does God really use ordinary people to build His Kingdom? Our story of Gideon is one example of God using an ordinary person. God has a vision for who Gideon is to be but Gideon doesn’t see himself in the same way.
13 “Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.” 14 Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!” [1] Judges 6:13-14.
Gideon may have wondered if he was up to the task he was being assigned because he was just an ordinary person. The good news is the Lord uses ordinary people to extraordinary things and here a just a few examples.
- Moses was living on the back side of the desert, a total failure as the prince of Egypt, and God called him to deliver a nation.
- When Goliath was taunting the Israelites, everyone discounted David, a teenage shepherd boy. But God didn’t! And David defeated the giant and became the king of a nation years later.
- How about Nehemiah? He was living in Persia in complete obscurity serving as a cupbearer and God called him to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem.
- Mary was a teenage girl living in Nazareth when God called her to be the mother of Jesus our Savior.
- Simon Peter would have lived and died an ordinary fisherman except that Jesus called him to establish the church and become a fisher of men.
- Do you see the pattern here? God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
He uses improbable men and women who have nothing of their own to offer, but their faithfulness and willingness to say, “Yes.” So, what has God called you to? I’ll tell you. It’s something wonderful and extraordinary! He’s calling right now. And all you have to do is say, “Yes, Lord.”
To hear more of the story of Gideon, listen here: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/series/the-call/the-call-gideon
[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Jdg 6:13–14). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.