“The LORD is with you mighty man of valor!” Judge 6:12, NKJV

We’ve all heard the phrase “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”  It simply tells us that what we see on the outside doesn’t always accurately represent what’s on the inside.  Books usually contain a lot of content within their pages and when one looks at the cover it is supposed to give an idea of that content.  Sometimes covers can disappoint you.  What they show can appear to be an exciting and promising read but when you get into the story it’s simply not so.  And vice versa.  Covers can inaccurately represent some great stuff on the inside while the outside seems to be dull and dreary.

Down through the years this phrase has been applied to people, and rightly so.  As we treat book covers and their content is often how we view other people.  We judge the outside without first getting acquainted with what’s written within.  As in Gideon’s case, sometimes we apply this same judging standard to ourselves, not recognizing the promise and potential in our own person.

It’s not all about how we see ourselves – it’s how God sees us!  God said, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee,” (Jer. 1:5, KJV).  The psalmist said, “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb,” (Ps. 139:13, NKJV).  What both of these verses tells us is that God knows us better than we know ourselves.  God can see inside of us where we can’t.  God knows when we lay down and when we get up, Ps. 139:2.  God knows everything about us and more!

As we do with other people we do with ourselves.  We can only judge by what we see.  God has often called and declared more for a person than they have seen in themselves.  Abraham was going to be a father of multitudes though he had no son.  God saw more!  Joseph was going to reign as second in command over Egypt though he was the bane of his brother’s existence.  God saw more!  David, out in the field tending his father’s sheep and considered to be the least in the family rose to be Israel’s greatest king and deemed “A man after God’s own heart.”  God saw more!

God sees more in each of us individually than we could ever imagine.  You may think that you are lowly and not measuring up but God sees more.  Like Gideon you might even feel as if you are the least, Judges 6:15.  But God calls you “mighty!”  God sees you as a force to be reckoned with!  Someone that God can accomplish great feats through if you submit to His will.  It’s all about what God says I am!  Your content reads more than your cover.  Be blessed today as you walk in this truth 🙂