Small in Your Eyes, Strong in His Hands!

The Ministry of Healing • Sermon • Submitted 2 months ago • Presented 2 months ago

0 ratings

· 13 views

Tonight, God is healing the wound that says, “I am not enough.” God is healing insecurity. God is healing comparison. God is healing rejection. God is healing the fear of being exposed. You may feel small in your eyes. But you are strong in His hands. You are not an impostor. You are being formed by God. You are being strengthened by grace. You are being called into purpose.

Notes

Transcript

Bible Passage

Judges 6:11–16 KJV 1900

And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house. And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.

Introduction: The Wound That Makes You Hide

There is a wound that makes gifted people hide.

There is a wound that makes called people hesitate.

There is a wound that makes anointed people apologize for being in the room.

You can have ability and still lack confidence.

You can have a testimony and still feel unqualified.

You can be chosen by God and still wonder if you belong.

Some people call it impostor syndrome.

It is the fear that somebody will discover you are not as capable as they think.

It is the fear that your success is accidental.

It is the fear that you are only pretending to be what God has called you to become.

But let me tell you something.

There is a word for somebody in this room.

This is a word for somebody who has been pushed to the edge.

Pushed to the limit.

Pushed to the breaking point.

But you are still here!

Your feelings are real, but they are not your final authority.

Your fear may be loud, but it is not the voice of God.

When we look in the text we find that Gideon was hiding.

Gideon was afraid.

Gideon was questioning himself.

But God was looking at his calling.

Gideon saw a frightened man.

God saw a mighty warrior.

Gideon saw weakness.

God saw potential.

Gideon saw his background.

God saw his assignment.

When God looks at you, He does not only see what you have been.

God sees what His grace is making you.

The Biblical Context: Israel Was Hiding

In the text we find that Israel had turned away from the Lord.

The Midianites came against them.

They destroyed the crops.

They took the livestock.

They invaded the land.

They left Israel struggling to survive.

The people hid in caves and strongholds.

They were God’s people.

But they were living beneath their covenant identity.

And Gideon was threshing wheat by the winepress.

Wheat was normally threshed in an open place.

But Gideon was hiding.

He was trying to survive without being seen.

He was working beneath the level of his assignment.

Then the angel of the Lord appeared.

The angel did not call him a coward.

The angel did not call him the least.

The angel did not call him poor.

The angel said:

“The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.”

God called him mighty while he was hiding.

God called him courageous while he was afraid.

God called him valuable while he felt insignificant.

God called him by his destiny before he acted like it.

& i need for us to know tonight that:

God’s Word About You Is Greater Than Your Fear About You!

Movement One: God Finds You in the Hiding Place

Gideon was not on a battlefield.

He was not standing in a palace.

He was not surrounded by an army.

He was hiding near a winepress.

But the hiding place did not hide him from God.

Your silence cannot hide you from God.

Your shame cannot hide you from God.

Your insecurity cannot hide you from God.

Your private tears cannot hide you from God.

You may hide from people.

But you cannot hide from the One who made you.

And God does not find you to condemn you.

God finds you to call you.

God finds you to heal you.

God finds you to restore you.

Somebody has been hiding behind busyness.

You stay busy so nobody can ask how you feel.

Somebody has been hiding behind humor.

You make everybody laugh because you do not want anybody to know you are hurting.

Somebody has been hiding behind excellence.

You keep performing because you are trying to prove that you deserve to be accepted.

But tonight, God is meeting you in the hiding place.

You do not have to perform for God to love you.

You do not have to impress God for God to choose you.

You do not have to pretend to be strong before God will strengthen you.

Gideon had fear.

God still called him.

Gideon had questions.

God still called him.

Gideon had limitations.

God still called him.

God knew who you were before He called you.

God knew what you lacked before He selected you.

God knew your whole story before He gave you the assignment.

Movement Two: God Calls You by Purpose

The angel said, “Mighty man of valour.”

Gideon did not feel mighty.

Gideon did not look mighty.

Gideon was not acting mighty.

But God spoke to the purpose inside him.

God did not speak to the hiding place.

God spoke to the warrior.

God did not speak to the fear.

God spoke to the faith.

There are times when God calls you by what you are becoming.

A seed does not look like a tree.

But God knows what is inside the seed.

Your beginning does not look like your finished testimony.

But God knows what He placed inside you.

You are judging yourself by your current condition.

God is looking at your complete assignment.

You say, “I am nervous.”

God says, “I can use you.”

You say, “I am inexperienced.”

God says, “I can teach you.”

You say, “I have made mistakes.”

God says, “I can restore you.”

You say, “I am not talented enough.”

God says, “I am your strength.”

Your limitations are not larger than God’s ability.

Your weakness is not stronger than God’s grace.

Your background is not more powerful than God’s calling.

Do not reject yourself because you are not finished.

Do not call yourself fake because you are still developing.

A person learning to walk is not an impostor.

A person learning to pray is not an impostor.

A person learning to lead is not an impostor.

A person learning to heal is not an impostor.

Growth is not proof that you are fake.

Growth is proof that God is working.

You are not pretending.

You are progressing.

You are not finished.

You are being formed.

Movement Three: Your Background Does Not Cancel Your Calling

Gideon said, “My family is poor in Manasseh.”

Then he said, “I am the least in my father’s house.”

Gideon measured his calling by his background.

He measured his future by his family’s resources.

He measured his value by his position at home.

But your family history does not have authority over God’s purpose.

You may have come from dysfunction.

But dysfunction does not have to be your destiny.

You may have come from poverty.

But poverty does not have to define your future.

You may have come from a broken home.

But brokenness does not have to become your identity.

You may have been overlooked.

But heaven has not overlooked you.

You may have been the least celebrated.

But you are not the least valuable.

You may have been the last considered.

But you are not the last in God’s plan.

People may know your family name.

But God knows your purpose name.

People may remember your history.

But God sees your destiny.

Your family may explain where you came from.

Your family does not determine where God can take you.

David was the youngest son.

But the youngest son became king.

Mary was a young woman from Nazareth.

But God used her to carry the Savior.

The disciples were ordinary men.

But God used them to carry an extraordinary gospel.

God does not need a perfect background.

God needs a surrendered vessel.

You may be the first in your family to break the pattern.

You may be the first in your family to walk fully in purpose.

You may be the first in your family to say yes to God.

And if God has called you, He will help you.

Movement Four: The Presence of God Is Greater Than the Pressure Around You

Gideon asked, “If the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?”

That is an honest question.

If God is with me, why am I grieving?

If God is with me, why am I under pressure?

If God is with me, why am I struggling financially?

If God is with me, why am I still waiting for healing?

If God is with me, why did they reject me?

Gideon’s question did not make God abandon him.

Your questions do not make God abandon you.

Faith is not the absence of questions.

Faith is bringing your questions to the right place.

And God answered Gideon with a calling.

The Lord said, “Go in this thy might.”

God was saying:

“You have enough for the next step because I am sending you.”

You may not have enough for the next ten years.

But you have enough grace for today.

You may not know how everything will work out.

But you know who is sending you.

You may not have all the answers.

But you have the presence of God.

The presence of God is greater than the pressure around you.

The presence of God is greater than the questions within you.

The presence of God is greater than the enemy before you.

God did not tell Gideon to trust himself.

God told Gideon, “I will be with thee.”

That is the difference.

Stop trying to be strong in your own power.

Learn to lean on the Strong One.

Stop trying to manufacture your own confidence.

Trust the God who called you.

Practical Healing for Everyday Life

You are not your worst mistake.

You may have made a terrible decision.

But one decision does not own your entire life.

You may have fallen.

But God can raise you.

You may have failed.

But failure can become instruction.

You may have disappointed yourself.

But God has not stopped working on you.

Your failure may be part of your story, but it is not the title of your story.

Do not compare your process.

You will look at somebody else’s harvest and despise your seed.

You will look at somebody else’s platform and despise your preparation.

You will compare your chapter one with somebody else’s chapter twenty.

But God is not asking you to become somebody else.

God is asking you to obey Him.

Your assignment does not have to look like somebody else’s assignment to be anointed.

And stop trying to prove your worth.

You are exhausted from overworking.

Overgiving.

Overexplaining.

Overperforming.

But you are not valuable because people applaud you.

You are valuable because God created you.

You do not have to earn what grace has already given you.

You are not working for acceptance.

You are working from acceptance.

The Healing Declaration

Tonight, God is healing the voice that says:

“You are not enough.”