Maggie sat in my office, looking nervous. She had given me a suggestion for a small group at church, not expecting me to ask her to lead it. The thought made her stomach turn. She definitely didn’t think leadership was her thing. Though she was a faithful and valued helper in other groups, she couldn’t imagine herself leading one.
“I can’t do this,” she said under her breath. “I don’t know enough. I’m not confident enough.”
“Maggie, is that what the Lord would say to you concerning this?” I asked.
She confessed she had thought about leading a group but had talked herself out of it. Then she told me that the Lord had spoken to her heart, saying, "You don’t have to be enough. I am enough for you." She had walked into my office thinking, “If he asks me to lead this group, then I should just trust that if God opens this door, I need to walk through it.” What she didn’t expect was for me to actually ask her!
She agreed to lead the group—nervous but willing. And week by week, something changed. She wasn’t perfect, but God gave her the right words. She saw women opening up, growing in faith. And she realized—God had seen something in her that she hadn’t seen in herself.
Gideon never saw himself as a leader either. If anything, he felt small, unqualified, and completely unprepared for the task at hand. When the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior” (Judges 6:12, NIV), Gideon must have looked around to see if someone else was standing nearby.
He was hiding in a winepress, threshing wheat in secret, afraid of the Midianites who had been oppressing Israel. Mighty warrior? Hardly. More like a man just trying to survive.
How often do we feel the same way? Life hands us challenges, and instead of stepping up, we shrink back. We tell ourselves we’re not strong enough, not skilled enough, not spiritual enough. Maybe we feel like we come from the wrong background, or that our past disqualifies us. Gideon had all these doubts too.
He immediately listed his weaknesses: “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” (Judges 6:15, NIV). In other words, “You’ve got the wrong guy, God.” But God wasn’t asking Gideon to be strong in his own power. Instead, He answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive” (Judges 6:16, NIV).
That changes everything.
God knew what Gideon didn’t! Gideon saw fear, inadequacy, and weakness. God saw potential, courage, and victory. And little by little, God led Gideon into a strength he didn’t know he had—not because Gideon became fearless overnight, but because he learned to trust that God’s power was enough.
Maybe today you feel small, unseen, or incapable of handling what’s in front of you. Maybe you’ve convinced yourself that you’ll never be strong enough, brave enough, or worthy enough to do what God is calling you to do. But just like Gideon, you don’t have to be the strongest. You just have to be willing.
God still sees something in you that you don’t see in yourself.
Take the first step—even if it’s small. Maybe that first step is simply involvement. That first step is just a step of faith. But you’ll find that God has many more ahead—each step guided by His strength. Even if you’re afraid, God is with you, and that is enough. Just ask Gideon!
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV)
In his love,
Pastor Tim Burt
