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You Don't Have What It Takes

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You don’t have what it takes (cf. Judges 6-9).

It’s true. 300 versus 135,000 is no fair fight, and Gideon knew it. He’s scared. I don’t know what you are facing today, but the battle is too much for you.

We are in the fight to raise six little kids. Our oldest, Jake, is 11 years of boy trying to figure life out. He looks to me for guidance, and so do my four daughters and final little man Leo. I don’t have what it takes. Courtney and I look back at life this past week and ahead to the next twenty years with knees shaking. Courtney is amazing, absolutely amazing. I’m mediocre at best. We are facing 300 versus 135,000. Outnumbered, trying to raise kids that grow up healthy, strong, smart, and in love with Jesus. Meanwhile, just keeping them alive is a win.

The journey is too much for us. It is too much for you, too. You who have one kid, one spouse, or no kids and no spouse, or a kid and no spouse. We’re in the same battle, just fighting on different fields.

Gideon’s battle for deliverance begins where we must begin. In Judges 6:7-6, God tells us to remember. At the bottom of every hill, there are two things you and I must remember: One, who God is. Two, what God has done.

First, remember the battle you fight and the outcome you hope for are not your Savior. Remember who God is. If I get great kids, keep great kids, raise great kids—it will not be enough. They cannot give me what I desire, they cannot love me as I need to be loved, and they are not worthy of my worship. “I am the LORD your God,” God says. There is only one God, and He is my Lord, He is my Savior. He knows you, loves you, forgives you, empowers you, and is worthy of your worship.

Second, we must remember that the battle we fight is not our own. You are not your own Savior. Remember who fights for you. The God who “delivered [His people] from the hands of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed [them],” is the God who rescued you from sin and death. Jesus fought for you and will fight for you. He has rescued you from the penalty of death; He has gifted you a relationship with God, so that He might be with you in this fight, today.

So don’t sit paralyzed saying, “I can’t do it.” And don’t step into the fight boasting, “I can do it.” Enter the battle trusting in Christ.

Seek your security, purpose, and peace in Him, not the outcome. He is your Savior. Surrender to His power in the struggle. Only He has defeated our greatest foe and fights for us today. It might not be a perfect plan forward, but go ahead and pick up some jars, torches, and trumpets and give it a whirl. You’re not paralyzed or ultimately responsible. God is your Savior who fights for you. Go ahead and follow Him. You just never know what He will do as we remember Him and what He has done.