This past weekend, Pastor Dave concluded Against All Odds with a message on Gideon called “Unlikely Victory.” In his message, Dave taught how God approached Gideon and told him he would help bring an incredible victory to the Israelites–God’s chosen people. In a shocked response, Gideon said, “How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh and I am the least in my family” (Judges 6:15b), and God’s answer was simply: “I will be with you” (Judges 6:16b). Through his own eyes, Gideon didn’t see his value or potential, but God did.

 

We’re all like Gideon at times. We base what we can do on who we think we are: “I can only go so far because of my family history and where I grew up” or “I’ve made so many mistakes in my past, it’d be impossible for me to be successful again.” But we’re more than our history, name, or status. To God, none of that matters. 

 

In our society, the value of an object comes from what someone will pay for it; its value goes up based on its rarity, condition, and popularity in the market. But what does the Bible say? In John 3:16, it says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son . . .” If you grew up around the church, you might have done an exercise in Sunday school where the teacher would say, “Fill in your name here: For God so loved _________ that He gave His one and only Son . . .” What a great exercise for all of us today! Fill in your name there and remind yourself of the worth God has already given you. 

 

From the world’s perspective, most of us see things like Gideon: we come from the wrong family, and we’re not the strongest, smartest, or most wealthy, but let’s embrace the truth that our worth shouldn’t come from this world, but from God. We’re not like the housing market–our worth doesn’t fluctuate. Even if we were living in a van down by the river, our worth couldn’t be any more than if we were living in a mansion in the Hamptons. And why? Because God loved us so much, He sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins so we could have an eternal relationship with Him.

 

It doesn’t matter if you live in an apartment or a mansion, if you make seven figures or five, if you’re a doctor or a clerk, or if you drive a Bentley or ride the bus, your value and worth will never change. To God, you’re priceless.