Encountering the Supernatural; Identity

July 26

Read: Judges 6:11-24

Encountering the Supernatural; Identity

“Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth…while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress…And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” (v.11,12)

Who are you? There is a perpetual battle inside that we all face. It is a battle of identity. The truth is that WE don’t even truly know who we are. What do I mean by this? I mean that throughout our lives we shift and scramble… trying on different “identities”… seeking to be different types of people. We are always wandering… looking for ourselves. The world talks about this as well; pop culture speaks about “finding yourself” which is just another way of acknowledging that the default is a place of not having one’s “self”. Who is it that TRULY knows US? Where will we go, or to whom will we turn when it comes time to answer this question?

Our creator is the one who KNOWS US. Our creator is the one who holds the key to finding one’s self… our TRUE identity. The accuser (Satan) wants to mislead us… obscure our identity… while Christ calls us into the fullness of who we truly are. So the question becomes: will we trust God when he tells us who we are? To put it another way, are we willing to believe the Lord when he tells us our true identity… who we are in HIM? We like to say “yes” to those questions, but in reality it is hard. We would much rather “lean on our own understanding” than to embrace who we are in Christ. Look at Gideon…

Gideon is called a “son of God” in verse 11. He belongs to the Lord. The Lord loves him as a father loves a son. He has not forsaken him. He has not forgotten him. He has not abandoned him. When the Lord rolls up to Gideon, what does he call him? : “O’ mighty man of valor.” (v.12) That is a funny thing to say to a dude who is scared, hiding in the corner, hoping the bullies don’t take his lunch! In this moment, Gideon faces the same question we spoke of above; “who am I?” God says he is a mighty man of valor… Gideon says he is “forsaken, abandoned, and the hand of the Lord is against him”. In this moment, Gideon must choose to believe either his emotions and perception of the world around him, or to trust the Lord and what HE says about it. Read the rest of the interchange and watch how this unfolds! (It is laughable)

In Christ, you are a “royal priesthood”. (cf.1Peter 2:9) You have been adopted as a child of God… you are one of HIS children. (cf. 2 Cor. 6:18, Eph. 1:5, Rom 8:15) You have been given a new spirit, made a new creation, to walk in “newness of life”. (cf. Gal. 2:20, 2 Cor. 5:17, Rom 6:4) Jesus calls you his “friend”… you are friends with Christ. (cf. John 15:14,15) God LOVES you… he is not angry at you. (cf. John 3:16) In Christ you are NO LONGER A SINNER, but have been made a saint. (Ps 30:4, Acts 26:10, Rom. 1:7, etc.) Jesus says that you will do “greater works” than the ones he did while here on earth! - ““Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12) God is calling you “a mighty one of valor” - will you believe him?

When we don’t have these questions answered we cannot hear from God. We miss out on his voice / the supernatural when we are too busy trying to “find ourselves”. Never let ANYONE say you are someone that Christ says you are not. Who knows “us” better? Who will YOU trust? When you feel alone, and abandoned - God says he is with you; will you try speaking to him? When you feel weak and powerless- God says he has given you his power and strength; will you courageously step forward and try? When you feel hopeless- God says there is reason to be hopeful; would you fight for hope? When we don’t trust who God says we are - when we doubt our identity in him - we will always have a hard time experiencing the life he has for us. We miss out on God’s voice when we don’t know who we are in Christ. So, who are you? Love you guys! - JDP