Discovering Your Inner Mighty Warrior: Lessons from Gideon’s Story
Do you remember the story of Gideon?
Judges 6:11 begins the story. Here is Gideon threshing wheat in a winepress. Now – it seems a natural question… Why was Gideon in a winepress threshing out the wheat? My first thought would be that it would totally mess up the winepress with pieces of wheat. Wouldn’t that ruin the press to make new wine?
Making new wine wasn’t what was on Gideon’s mind – he was hiding to beat out a few pieces of wheat to have for food, hiding from the Midianites. A winepress is a small pit, that while it makes it hard to thresh wheat (you need room to do that), it provided the seclusion he needed for protection so he wouldn’t be discovered by the Midianites.
So, just a little background – the Midianites oppressed Israel. They camped on their land and ruined the crops and didn’t spare a living thing for Israel, including sheep, cattle, or donkeys.
So Gideon was right to hide and work to get a little food for his family.
What happened while he’s in the winepress threshing out some wheat?
“When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.”
What? Mighty Warrior??? He’s hiding in a small pit in the ground! Yet – that’s how GOD saw him – as a mighty warrior.
How did Gideon see himself? Judges 6:15 (this is after the angel of the LORD told him to go and save Israel out of Midian’s hand)
“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.”
There seems to be a HUGE gap between how Gideon saw himself and how GOD saw him.
Mighty warrior vs. the least in my family of the weakest clan.
Gideon was not happy with the situation with Midian oppressing Israel, yet he saw himself as small and unworthy of great things.
Did Gideon believe it was possible to make a difference in the plight of Israel? Maybe, but he sure didn’t see himself as worthy of being a mighty warrior.
There is a quote from Jamie Kern Lima:
“You don’t rise to what you believe is possible. You fall to what you believe you’re worthy of.”
That was why even though the LORD called him a mighty warrior, Gideon was still threshing wheat while hiding inside of a small pit.
What do you believe about yourself?
Do you consider yourself worthy of what you want?
You may not want to head up a battle against an oppressive enemy (although that’s perfectly cool if you do!)
What is it that you want?
To feel fit and healthy?
To have the career you’ve dreamed about?
Maybe write a book?
Have a loving relationship?
Feel uncluttered, organized, and expansive? (that’s one for my list)
It doesn’t matter if it’s big, small, “crazy” – or whatever descriptive word you want to use to “excuse” why you don’t have it.
It boils down to if you feel you are worthy.
Now there’s a difference between self-confidence and self-worth.
Self-confidence comes from external things. For example – you get a standing ovation after giving a presentation. Boy – does that boost your self-confidence! But does it really have an effect on that deep down gut feeling of worth?
You get a huge raise because you knocked it out of the park with your last project. WooHoo – skyrocket to your self-confidence. But is there a feeling of “imposter syndrome”, like if they really knew you, they would take the raise away or worse?
Self-worth comes from the deep internal belief that you are worthy of love and belonging.
GOD believes you are worthy of love and belonging – He died for you and for me. He thinks we’re worthy. But do we believe we are worthy? Do YOU believe YOU are worthy?
Affirmations are great to have – but if you just keep repeating “I am worthy”, would that really change what you belief to be true? Probably not.
There is a way to change or shift how we believe.
We are going to go in depth on our worthiness, clarifying our beliefs, and shifting our beliefs to align with GOD’s in our membership group. If you’d like to learn more, ask to join the group, send me a message, or reply to this email. I’d love to support you going deep and believing in your own self-worth.
Our life is a reflection of what we believe, it’s a physical representation of what we believe we are worthy of.
It’s not about strategy!
You want to be fit and healthy. It is not about strategy. There are thousands of strategies to get fit and healthy, right? Just searching until you find the “right one” won’t work.
Don’t ask for a strategy to be fit and healthy – ask what you need to believe to be fit and healthy. We jump from one strategy to the next with nothing working or with minimal results. Why? Because we have not shifted what we believe to be true.
When something is not how you want it to be – take a look at what you’re believing.
I’ll give you an example my coach gave me –
The belief is “It’s hard to lose weight after mid 40’s or even worse after menopause.” We hear this all the time, right? We’ve heard that for years, it’s harder to get in shape after 50. It’s hard to lose the “baby weight” even though the kids are in middle or high school. It’s hard to fit in a good meal plan into my schedule. It’s hard to get to the gym after work.
Whether you have heard these things from others, or you have just repeated them over and over in your head, we don’t even question it anymore and it somehow becomes truth to us. If we believe it will be hard to lose weight, to eat healthy, or get to the gym, guess what? It WILL BE HARD to lose weight, eat healthy, or make it to the gym!
Decide to believe something different. Right now choose something different. You get to choose what you believe.
What are YOU believing?
Let’s walk through the 4 steps to shift our beliefs.
Step 1 - Why do you believe that?
Why do you think it will be too hard, take too long, too challenging, cost too much? Whatever it is for you. Why do you believe that?
Step 2 - Whose beliefs are they?
Are they yours, handed down by your parents, from the media, or society?
Dissect your belief – not from a place of judgment, but from curiosity.
Bringing in awareness from step 1 and 2 is what will allow you to shift.
Step 3 - What do you want to believe?
Something different? Maybe that being fit and healthy is perfectly natural for me.
Make a conscious choice – is my current belief serving me? Yes or No
Step 4 - Decide
Make a firm decision.
Fill in the blanks
“I am a woman who believes __________________________.”
I am a woman who believes that as a child of GOD, I am worthy to be fit and healthy.
I am a woman who believes that in good health I am walking out the purpose GOD has for me.
I am a woman who believes that with GOD I can do anything I set my mind to.
I am a woman who believes it can’t not work.
Tell me who you are….
Our identity shifts – our energy shifts – our choices shift.
Mighty Warrior – it’s your turn. You become what you believe you are worthy of.
“We have become his poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny he has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it!” - Ephesians 2:10 TPT
If this resonated with you, and you would like to into partnering with GOD in a healthier lifestyle, align your self worth with the worth that GOD knows to be true about you, shift your beliefs to become all who GOD has called you to be – (click here to find out more about the @wholelifehealthforfaithbasedwomen
As a member of the @wholelifehealthforfaithbasedwomen:
You can create a life of purpose, fulfillment, and wellness that reflects the beautiful design GOD has for you.
💫 You will recognize your true worthiness and practice faith in every dimension of wellness. Discovering the profound truth that you are worthy of vibrant health, happiness, and spiritual abundance.
💫 Truly enjoy what you’re doing for health and wellness – all while staying deeply connected to Jesus. Relishing every step of your health and wellness journey, finding joy and fulfillment as you nourish your body, mind, and spirit.
💫 You will bridge the gap between your health journey and your Christian faith. Embracing true holistic health while deepening your relationship with Jesus.
💫 You’ve faced challenges – from weight concerns and stress to habits that haven't aligned with, or supported, your well-being. You have felt like your health journey is separate from your Christian faith, maybe sensed a disconnect between your spiritual connection and your relationship with yourself and your body. Perhaps there has been guilt about wanting more in your life, or even shame because you feel you should already have it.
It's time for a comprehensive approach that harmonizes your health and your Christian values.
Now is the time to experience the transformative power of integrating your faith into your pursuit of better health.
Find joy in nourishing your body with wholesome choices, cultivating a peaceful mind through mindfulness practices, and nurturing your spirit through a deeper connection with Jesus.
Your path to true holistic health begins here.