Coward or Mighty Warrior?

James 4:7-10 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. The story of Gideon comes to mind after reading this passage. His story is recorded in Judges 6-8. The story tells us that the Israelites "did evil in the eyes of the Lord" so He gave them over to the Midianites. They were being oppressed so badly by their enemy that it drove them into hiding. The Israelites could not stand the oppression any longer so they cried out to the Lord. The Lord sent a prophet to remind them of their past deliverance from slavery in Egypt and then exposed their sin of disobedience to His word and the worshipping of false God's. The Lord then chose Gideon to be the leader to help deliver the Israelites from the oppression of their enemy. Gideon was a man who thought of himself as "the least" of his family. God thought differently. The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon saying, "the Lord is with you, mighty warrior." Quite opposite of what Gideon thought of himself! God again chose an unlikely leader to bring deliverance to His people. With three hundred men under Gideon's leadership, God routed the Israelites enemy. Even though you might think of yourself like Gideon thought of himself, God wants you to trust and believe what He thinks of you. Jesus Christ defeated your enemy, the devil. He needs you to do your part and be a "mighty warrior" like Gideon. Today submit and humble yourself to God, resist the devil, purify your hearts and he will lift you up! Have a great day! God bless you. Louis & Elisa Quintana