It doesn’t matter who we are, how important or insignificant we feel, what others think of us, our role at work, our age, our gender, our race, the colour of our skin, our circumstances, what we’ve done in the past or how much we’ve seen or experienced God, God loves us and has a plan for us, both for now and for the future.

Gideon is one of my favourite biblical heroes. Hiding from the Midianites, threshing wheat for food for his family, he was considered to be the least in his family and his family the weakest in the area. He wouldn’t have even made the long-list for a leadership role, let alone been invited to interview! But God chose him. Despite his apparent insignificance, God called him to deliver Israel from the Midianites. When the Spirit of the Lord came on ‘insignificant’ Gideon, 32,000 men responded to his trumpet call. And then God demonstrated his tremendous power by using just 300 of them to overcome the Midianites. Gideon went from complete zero to big-time hero!

One of the things I love about Gideon, is that even with an angel of the Lord speaking to him, Gideon still asked for sign after sign that it really was God’s plan. I can relate to that. I often ask God ‘are you sure?’ ‘Me? Really?’!

I want to encourage you – don’t underestimate what God can accomplish with you. Don’t put limitations on yourself. If you limit what God can do in and through you, you are limiting God, who is limitless.

It doesn’t matter whether we are called to build His kingdom in our homes and neighbourhoods, our workplaces, or share the gospel around the world, we have His infinite resources at our disposal, and we can accomplish all things through Him who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13).

Please don’t buy into the narrative that your face doesn’t fit, that you’re not good enough, that you aren’t old enough, you’re too old, you’re the wrong colour or gender, you aren’t married, you’re divorced, your single… or whatever other voice you hear telling you why you can’t do something God is calling you to. I’ve done that way too much and it’s a road to nowhere.

The first book of Chronicles is a record of the family tree of David. It reads like a list of heads of families and fighting men and most of the first few chapters contain very little narrative of what happened. Women are barely mentioned, apart from as wives, mothers or daughters, and not by name. That might be shocking today, but it would have been the cultural norm then. However, in the midst of a list of male descendants, in chapter 7 (v21-24), not only is Ephraim’s daughter mentioned by name, but space is made to record what she did – “His daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth Horon as well as Uzzen Sheerah.”

In a time before equal rights and women’s lib, the list of names of men and the names of their sons is interrupted to tell us not just the lady’s name, but a narrative – a description of the tragedy that befell this family and an account of what she achieved. I think that is one of many illustrations in the Bible where in departing from the norm, God makes a point to show how important all of us are – that neither cultural, historical nor any other barriers, will stop God from fulfilling His plans through any of us if we choose to be obedient to Him.

When I read that chapter some years ago, I felt God impressing upon me that I am not insignificant, my name is written in God’s book, with space not just for my name, but for my story. That’s true of you, too.

And please don’t think you’ve blown it either! That God’s used you in the past but now circumstances have overwhelmed you or you’ve messed up. That’s another lie, and another one I have struggled with on and off over the years.

I’ve always thought of the prophet Elijah as a strong and confident man of God, his ear finely tuned to God’s voice, speaking out against the King of Israel for turning his back on God, the only prophet of God still standing. I have admired his bold faith as he calls on God to demonstrate his incomparable power in front of all the country at Mount Carmel, and being slightly envious of his spirit-filled sprint to Jezreel (both 1 Kings 18). And yet, a couple of verses later, in chapter 19, Elijah was so afraid, he ran for his life, and in so much despair he prayed he might die. It’s almost the opposite of Gideon – he must have felt like he’d gone from hero to zero.

But God hadn’t given up on him. He asked Elijah, “What are you doing here?”. I think he often asks us that too! ‘What are you doing here? Why are you sitting under a tree wishing all your troubles would go away? Why do you bury your head in the sand? Why are you curling up under the duvet, hiding from the day? Why aren’t you relying on my provision and spending time in my presence listening to my voice?’

I’m not talking about clinical depression or anxiety. I’m talking about the times we believe those lies I referred to earlier – the little voice that tells us we’ve stuffed everything up, we’ll never be good enough, the voice that compares us unfavourably to other people, that lists all the reasons why we’re not the person God should use. We shouldn’t write ourselves off. Just as God sustained Elijah through his times of despair, so God will sustain us. Just as Eiljah went on to do more great things in His strength, so can we. Sometimes we just need to stop hiding, and sit up, eat of God’s word and drink of His Spirit, spend time in His presence and listen to what He has to say.

God as a calling on your life. I pray that you will embrace it, smash down those barriers and step forward in obedience into everything he has got for you!

*Just as an aside – I love the fact that God answers Elijah’s prayer by giving him what he needs, not what he wants in that moment! With hindsight, I can see a number of times when God hasn’t answered my prayer in the way I had pictured, but has met my need, and his answer to my prayer was far a far better response than what I had in mind when I prayed it!

First written 29th May 2013.
Updated 20th June 2020.