This is not an unusual question.

Whenever a stranger mysteriously appears and does something amazing, spectacular, perhaps even lifesaving, it is the first question people ask: “Who was that? Where did he come from?” We don’t want to know just about the brave act; we have to know more. We want to understand. We want to know the hero’s background, his training, where his strength and skill come from, who is this guy?!

Who are you?

Maybe you stare in the mirror and ask yourself that question. What you see may be a patchwork of sin, failure, imperfections, and brokenness. You may be struggling to understand your purpose. You may be wearied by the responsibilities and problems you face in work or with your family. Do you stop to consider your identity?

Deep down, truthfully, honestly―who are you?

I’m going to answer you from Scripture. In the sixth chapter of Judges we learn that the Midianites had laid the land of Israel waste and consumed all the harvest, leaving the Israelites with no source of food. When they cried out to the Lord for help, He sent a prophet to say this happened because they had forsaken Him. But He did not leave them alone; He had a deliverer in mind for Israel: Gideon. A young, frustrated, discouraged nobody who was beating out wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites.  And when He least expected it, when he though nothing would ever change, the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor” (Judges 6:12).

Why would the angel of the Lord say this? To a man who was hiding… to a man who had done nothing heroic, maybe even nothing significant at all.  What was the Lord doing?   

First, God equips Gideon: He says, “The Lord is with you.”  For Gideon, and for you and me, we need to know and believe that God is with us.   

Over and over in His Word, the Lord tells us: I am your helper (Psalm 118:6), I will save you (Jeremiah 15:20), I will fulfill my purpose for you (Psalm 138:8), you shall not be shaken (Psalm 62:6), I am your guide (Psalm 73:24), I am your keeper (Psalm 121:5), I know the plans I have for you (Jeremiah 29:11).

Second, He gives him a mission. Not because of what he had done, but because of what God has for him to do. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

Do you know who you are? You are a mighty man of valor. Not because of what you have done or not done, but because of what you’re about to do, how you will now live. Because God has chosen you. Because He will be with you.