The Lord wants to develop you. Here’s an example to help you understand that. I was on the cross-country team in high school. Our coach focused on developing each of us into a better athlete. Each of us had varying degrees of natural talent, and our ups and downs, but our coach kept with us to help us improve. That was his major goal.
In a spiritual sense, we have a coach that is greater and far more interested in us than any earthly coach. The Lord Jesus, our coach, wants to develop you. He is coaching us as He shapes and molds us like clay on a potter’s wheel. Isaiah 64: 8 And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand. [1] The Lord’s goal is to transform our lives.
The Lord Worked to Develop Gideon
The people of Israel felt like God had abandoned them as the Midianites oppressed them for seven years. God had not forgotten about His people but used this time of persecution to draw them closer to Him. God had a plan, and He would use a surprising person.
Judges 6: 11 Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites. 12 The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior.”[2]
Gideon was literally hiding in a hole in the ground as he threshed the wheat. God could see what Gideon could become and called him a mighty warrior. When God called him, Gideon saw himself as insignificant and incapable. As God worked with Gideon, he did become a mighty warrior just as the Lord predicted. In this story we can see that the Lord wants more for Gideon than Gideon wanted for himself.
The Lord Will Develop You
Perhaps you are like Gideon, hiding in life and not realizing the potential God has given you. Hiding while threshing wheat may not seem like training for war, but God used it. God can use seemly mundane tasks to train us for what is ahead. The Lord has wonderful plans for you that are beyond your imagination.
The Lord knows your potential for He made you. He desires to call you to greater things for He wants more for you than you may want. When Jesus called Peter, his response was, Luke 5:8 Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.”[3] Peter saw himself as a sinful, insignificant fisherman. Jesus knew his potential and replied. Luke 5:10“Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” 11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus. [4]
Be encouraged to follow Jesus, even if you feel insignificant. The Lord wants to develop you and your faith. Jesus calls us to take up our crosses as we follow Him. It will be difficult, but well worth it. Remember the words of Paul. Philippians 3:13“ I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. [5]
To hear more about how the Lord wants to develop you, listen here: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/faith-makes-a-difference-gideon
[1,3-5] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation . Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[2] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (1989). (Jdg 6:11–12). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.