Mensa Otabil - Shake Off the Inferiority
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Welcome to day number 13 of our 40 days of power. This week, we are looking at overcoming limitations. Whether it’s self-imposed limitations or external limitations, you’re going to overcome them to become the person that God wants you to be. Today, we are looking at Gideon. Yesterday, we looked at Jeremiah; today, we look at Gideon.
Judges 6, verses 15 and 16: So he said to him, «Oh my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.» And the Lord said to him, «Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.» God called Gideon to deliver Israel from Midianite rule. The Midianites were distant relatives of the Israelites, but now they have become their overlords, ruling over them, plundering their farms, and taking their produce away from them. Gideon was a farmer, and some of the farmers had a way of hiding their work so that the Midianites would not take their produce from them. That’s exactly what Gideon is doing when the Lord comes to him and commissions him to go and deliver the people.
Gideon gives two excuses. It’s amazing how we always cancel ourselves out when God wants to bring us into purpose. Gideon says, «My clan is the weakest.» Why did he say that? Because Gideon is from the tribe of Manasseh. Manasseh is a minor tribe in Israel. It is considered a minor tribe because Manasseh and Ephraim share the inheritance of Joseph, so their tribe is divided into two. In Israel, Ephraim and Manasseh are the smallest tribes, and Gideon says, «I’m from Manasseh, I’m from the smallest tribe.» Not only that, but he adds, «My clan in Manasseh is the weakest. I am from the weakest clan.»
This reflects a degradation from Manasseh to a weak clan and then to the least in my father’s house. Sometimes that’s what we do; we look at our background, our ancestry, and the things that have produced us, and there’s nothing great in our background. Nobody has achieved anything; nobody has done much. Yet, God wants to do great things with you. He knew your background before He called you. That’s what Gideon is saying: «I don’t have greatness in my ancestry.» And God says, «That doesn’t matter.»
He promises Gideon two things. First, He says, «I will be with you.» That’s God’s presence, and that’s the qualifying factor. You may not have the natural qualification, but when God is with you, His presence goes with you. You can be sure that, no matter the negatives of your background, maybe you are not like Gideon from a weak tribe, but it could simply be that you come from a family of poor people and your father didn’t achieve much, your mother didn’t achieve much, and nobody has achieved much. Still, God wants to do great things with you. God does not look at who your father is before He uses you. He says, «I will be with you.» You have to know God is with you.
Then God says, «You shall defeat the Midianites.» God promised Gideon His power. He says, «You will defeat them as one man.» You don’t even need too many people to do this, Gideon; you can do this all by yourself. That’s very important. God takes our negatives and turns them into positives. You may not have anyone with you, and that’s fine; you don’t need anyone. All you need is God with you and God’s power with you.
Like Gideon, you and I can enter this week and into the rest of the year, into our destiny, fully confident that the Lord is with us and His power is with us. Let’s pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, Your presence and power make all the difference in my life. Use me for Your glory. In Jesus' name, Amen and Amen.