And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” Judges 6:15
When you read Gideon’s story, you cannot miss the variance between his self-perception and God’s perception of him. The angel of Yahweh addresses Gideon as a “mighty man of valour”. Gideon describes himself as “the least in my father’s house” from the weakest clan in the tribe of Manasseh.
What a difference! What a chasm! There was a huge gap between his and God’s perception. God believed in Gideon but the young man underrated himself. God saw a winner in him but Gideon considered himself a loser. Gideon suffered from serious self-doubt. He was plagued with the disease of disbelief in himself. His faith in God may have been ok, but his self-belief was weak to say the least. Only faith could bridge that gap. The same applies to us.
Many saints today believe in God but seriously doubt themselves. Most of us are our own worst enemies! Our self-image is worse than what the enemy thinks of us. We destroy our own confidence all by our own hands. We are in self-destruct mode unawares all the time. We write ourselves off. We bet against our own success. God forbid!
Please dear friend don’t do that! Mind your self-talk. Don’t waste precious time deprecating your sense of self worth. Don’t sell yourself short. Stop that false sense of humility. John Maxwell says, “Humble people don’t think less of themselves; they just think of themselves less”.
My dear friend, what story are you telling yourself in your heart everyday? I beseech you to change your self talk. Don’t sow seeds of doubt and disbelief into your own heart. Learn to affirm yourself. Learn to agree with God’s view of you. Then you can truly make a difference and so great exploits for God. Pastor Josh
Josh Chigorimbo