Dwight Fletcher | Maybe you’re the person God wants to use

We spend a lot of time talking ourselves out of things. We convince ourselves that we are not qualified enough, connected enough, experienced enough, or simply the right person for the job. We look at the people who seem better equipped and conclude that whatever needs to be done is probably someone else’s responsibility.

Sometimes we do this so convincingly that we never even try. In Judges 6, we meet a man named Gideon, who is not exactly what you would call a natural leader. Yet God chooses him to lead Israel’s deliverance from the Midianites, an enemy that had left the nation impoverished and afraid.

When the angel of the Lord appears to him, the greeting is remarkable: “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!” (Judges 6:12, NLT.)

Mighty hero? Gideon? He did not have the credentials to match the title. He was not leading an army or commanding a nation. He was living in the middle of the very oppression he would eventually help to overcome. And worst of all, Gideon certainly did not see himself as a hero. When God told him to rescue Israel, he responded by pointing out that his clan was the weakest in Manasseh, and that he was the least important member of his family (Judges 6:15, NLT). In other words, according to Gideon, God had the wrong man.

We do something similar when we measure our potential by our present circumstances. We decide that because we did not come from the ‘right’ family, attend the ‘right’ school, build the ‘right’ network, or achieve the ‘right’ level of success, we cannot possibly be the person to make a difference. We confuse our current position with our ultimate potential.

But Gideon’s story challenges that thinking. God did not choose him because he had an impressive résumé. God called him to do something that would require him to depend on a strength greater than his own.

God’s response to Gideon’s insecurity was direct: “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!” (Judges 6:14, NLT.)

Gideon did not have everything figured out. He had doubts and questions. But God was not asking him to manufacture some extraordinary ability. He was asking him to respond to His call. And that call was bigger than Gideon’s opinion of himself.

Consider what this might mean for you. Perhaps you see a problem in your workplace that everyone complains about, but nobody addresses. Perhaps there is a need in your community that you cannot stop thinking about. Maybe you have a burden for your family, or an idea you believe could make a difference, but you keep waiting until you feel more confident.

What if the question is not whether you feel ready, but whether you are willing to take the first step? Gideon’s story suggests that we may have to move forward while we are still working through our doubts, trusting that God will meet us along the way. God told Gideon, “I will be with you” (Judges 6:16, NLT). That was the assurance he needed, and it wasn’t a guarantee that things would be easy.

You may not be the obvious choice. You may not have the most resources or the strongest connections. But you do not have to be the obvious choice to be available to God. So, before you disqualify yourself, consider whether you are making a decision God has not asked you to make.

Perhaps the question is not whether you are qualified to make a difference. Perhaps it is whether you are willing to let God use you.