Mistaken Identity

Judges 6:12  And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. Just picture it! Gideon is threshing wheat in a wine press, where he can hide from the Midianites. It doesn't sound like something that a courageous man of valor would do, does it? But it doesn't stop God from calling Gideon just that! God saw Gideon's identity as something more than his present actions might indicate. We have all behaved outside of our true identity, and we should be thankful that God looks at more than the present. When God looked at Gideon, He saw the Gideon that led a small army to defeat the Midianites, not a coward hiding in a hole! God also sees you as His victorious, overcoming child, even though you don't always see that person when you look in the mirror. The devil loves to work as an identity thief, but he can't steal our identity from God! All he can do is trick us into living outside of our identity, and we need to be vigilant and aware of his schemes. Too many Christians are living their life with a mistaken identity, much like the brother of the prodigal son (Luke 15:31). Gideon could have bypassed the season of fear, doubt and anxiety, and so can we. It's time to take off the mask and declare "I know who I am"!