Judges 6: 12, 14 & 15
12When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
14The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
15“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
I have confidence in sunshine,
I have confidence in rain.
I have confidence that spring will come again!
Besides what you see I have confidence in not me.
For those of you Sound of Music fans who were singing along above, I apologize for the word change. But I have to tell you confidence is not a close friend of mine. I am so glad the bible is filled with not-so-confident characters to help me not feel alone.
One of my favorite Bible stories, when I was little, was about a man who had very little confidence. As a matter of fact from the world’s point of view, he really didn’t have much to be confident of according to the bible. This man described himself like this, “Look at me. My clan’s the weakest in Manasseh and I’m the runt of the litter.”
You can read the whole story in Judges chapters 6 through 8. But for now, let me give you a little taste.
The Israelites had messed up yet again and turned back to doing evil in God’s sight. So, he turned them over to Midianites who were very cruel to them. They would march into their land and destroy everything. So the Israelites made hideouts in the caves of the surrounding mountains. After being reduced to grinding poverty they finally cried out to God for help.
So, who does God send but Gideon the man of the weakest clan and the runt of the litter! As a matter of fact, poor Gideon has such little confidence about anything he asked God for signs just to make sure he was hearing him correctly.
Oh, and to add insult to injury. Gideon was just finally finding a little confidence and sure that he was supposed to go out and defeat those guys who eat nuts and bolts and drank motor oil for breakfast. God gave him stepped up and gave him the next part of his plan. Gideon my man you are getting an army of just 300 men to fight along side you! Oh, and by the way, for your weapons of choice you will get a torch, jar, and trumpet.
Yes, you read that correctly! God not only chose what the world deemed as a wimp, but he gave him just 300 men to go fight a huge army of elite fighting machines with just a torch, jar, and trumpet. Now doesn’t that just scream confidence builder! Personally, I think I just would have screamed.
Insert Tabetha now. I lack confidence in my abilities all the time. I am not confident about being a wife and mother. I am so not confident in my writing or teaching. I am so not confident in standing up in front of people and speaking. Let me let you in on a little secret. Confidence does not mean lack of fear. Confidence means you go through with the plan in spite of the fear.
Much like Sister Maria, Gideon had lots of concerns, questions, and fears, but he marched on. He took those three hundred men and defeated that army of ninjas, without lifting a sword
So you see it is OK to have questions, concerns and even fears because…
Strength doesn’t lie in numbers.
Strength doesn’t lie in wealth,
Strength lies in nights of peaceful slumbers,
When you wake up, wake up!
It’s healthy!
All I trust I leave my heart to,
All I trust becomes my own!
I have confidence in confidence alone.
Besides, which you see, I have confidence in me!
(I Have Confidence by Richard Rodgers)
Copyright © 2017 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.