NIV Spiritual Renewal Study Bible PlanSample

From Weakness to Strength

Regardless of our humble beginnings, God can lead us to a glorious future if we allow him to transform us according to his perfect plan. We will need both faith and courage to allow him to make the most of our weaknesses, to reconstruct our dearth into strength, to turn our misery into mission.

When we first meet Gideon, he is discouraged; he’s a young man with little self-respect. His clan was the weakest in his whole tribe, and he was the least in his family (see Judges 6:15). We first see him threshing wheat in a winepress, hiding the little food he has from his Midianite oppressors. An angel appeared and called to him, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior” (Judges 6:12). Gideon didn’t look or feel like a mighty hero, but God knew his potential. By the end of the story, Gideon had become the deliverer of his people (Judges 6 – 8). His first step toward success was to see himself as God saw him — as a “mighty warrior.” Then he was able to hope in the possibility of freedom.

No matter how weak or unworthy we may think we are, God is able to transform us into “mighty heroes” of faith. Just as Gideon was changed by trusting God to make him into a powerful man of God, we too will be changed by allowing God’s strength to empower us in our areas of weaknesses.