What Every Hero Needs - A Secret Identity

Our culture loves heroes.

X-Men
Fantastic Four
Hulk
Bat
man
Nacho Libre (he's MY hero, get over it!)

Their stories are compelling, and makes us want to be heroes too. I wish I could shoot spidey web from my hands, or fly like superman, or "know a buttload of crap about the Gospel..." (If you don't know that reference, then I probably just severely offended you....)

What is also compelling is that their stories usually start out like ours. But they are called out of the normal life into a life of heroism. Sometimes, I feel like I'm waiting for a moment of destiny to reach out to me, so that I too can be "the hero (insert city here) needs." I want a secret identity!

The problem is that I've already been called out of the ordinary life. John 14:12 quotes Jesus as saying this: "I can guarantee this truth: Those who believe in me will do the things that I am doing. They will do even greater things because I am going to the Father."

Either He was telling the truth or He wasn't!

Gideon is a Bible hero that takes away all my excuses when I have to decide whether or not I'm going to believe Jesus. Gideon is from the weakest tribe, and is the weakest IN his tribe. He's hiding out in a winepress trying to thresh wheat for crying out loud. That's like mowing your lawn with scissors. You thresh wheat on top of a hill where the wind can catch the chaff and blow it away. You don't do it at the bottom of a winepress...

And yet the Angel of The Lord shows up and says in Judges 6:12 - "Mighty Hero, the Lord is with you?"

Say what?

I think I would feel better about all this if the Angel had addressed his weakness. But He doesn't. Gideon tries to explain what a wussy pants he is, and the Angel doesn't even respond, He just keeps telling Gideon what a hero he is! Sometimes God isn't interested in cheering you up, He's interested in WAKING you up.

I love it because when Gideon thought he could hide from everybody in that pit, he couldn't hide from God. The wind wasn't blowing on the hill that day, the wind was blowing in the bottom of a winepress, and beginning to separate not the wheat from the chaff, the but the truth and the lies about Gideon's identity. You aren't weak Gideon, you're a mighty hero!

The identity issues that hold US back, aren't the issues that hold God back! You think you're weak and powerless? The Lord's going with you anyway, MIGHTY HERO!

I think it's because our weaknesses become God's motivation to do through us what we and no one else would ever believe possible.

Which wouldn't make sense if Gideon's story stopped here, but it doesn't. Gideon goes on to lead 300 men to defeat thousands. It had nothing to do with his assessment of Himself, but God's assessment of him.

So what's your secret identity? Are you waiting for the moment of destiny where you all of a sudden feel called to do something great? Let me help you:

Mighty Hero! The Lord is with you!