I looked into the mirror as closely as I could and grimaced at the sight of a small, dark spot splattered across my lower back. For two evenings, while getting ready for bed, I’d noticed it. I was officially concerned now. I turned my back towards the mirror and twisted my head around at a contorted angle to take a closer peek.
I’d call the doctor in the morning.
I walked into our bedroom and mentioned it to my husband. He turned me around by the shoulder and took a quick peek.
“I don’t see anything.” He went back to reading his book.
I went back into the bathroom and got into position to check again. Sure enough, there was that same dark spot, dashed across my back. I went to Jerry and we went through the whole exercise a second time, which thoroughly convinced him that it was my head that needed medical attention instead of my back.
It had only been a shadow.
A change in position, changed everything.
In Judges 6, Gideon has had a shadow cast across his life. His entire existence has fallen prey to a bleak Midianite silhouette that has caused an outline of discouragement to settle itself onto his very soul. The timid farmer is now only a gaunt reflection of his former self. So, when the angel of the Lord shows up one day and finds him beating out wheat in a shaded winepress, his primary goal is to give the soon-to-be judge a swift tug out of the shadows and into a clarifying light of Yahweh’s perspective.
“The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior.” – Judges 6:12
Gideon was stunned; not only because he was talking to an angel but also at the ironic comments that he offered. Cowering in the winepress, for fear of exposure to the enemy, Gideon felt and looked like anything but valiant. He certainly didn’t feel like a warrior. But Yahweh’s view was not bound by Gideon’s current position. He called him out of the shadow of insecurity and intimidation and into a new perspective that would change the course of his life.
Sister, take a look at yourself and the reality of your circumstances. Are they, like Gideon’s, causing a shadow of humiliation
or fear
or intimidation
or guilt
or sin
or doubt?
Today, God’s Spirit is tugging you out of those shadows and clearing away the stains that are trying to become permanent fixtures in your soul.
This is not who you are. Your entire identity has been redefined by the One who redeemed you with His own life’s blood.
You are loved.
You are forgiven.
You are capable.
You are worthy.
You are victorious.
You are valiant.
You are a warrior.
You are who He says you are.
You can do what He says you can do.
Your potential hasn’t fallen prey to your surroundings.
Look again through the lens of God’s Word, and you’ll see that your negative view of yourself is only a shadow.
A change in your position—even just a slight one—will change everything.
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