“My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the smallest in my family.” -Gideon
Talk about low self esteem! But this is how Gideon described himself when the angel of the Lord appeared to him (Judges 6:15).
It was understandable. During that particular time, Israel was in hiding. They harvested overnight under cover of darkness and in silence. They feared being invaded by their enemies who would steal their harvest and enslave some of them.
In freer circumstances, the harvest was carried out during the day with songs. So it was a shame for Israel to play cat and mouse with her enemies, Israel being the mouse.
Low self-esteem. What causes it? If we take a look at the story of Gideon, we can pick up a few and learn how to overcome them.
1. Fear. It is one of the first emotions of humanity. However, keep in mind that fear can be both debilitating and energizing. For Gideon and his people it was debilitating. If we were to follow Gideon’s state of mind, we could say that they had the lowest self-esteem.
How can fear be energizing instead? You let it motivate you and not daunt you. The angel made Gideon realize that they could face fear head-on and defeat it; or let fear relegate them to a life of hiding. Former US President Franklin Roosevelt once said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
Know the cause of your fear and your more than halfway to conquering it. Most of the time, when we discover what is behind our fears, we discover that they are not reason enough to
To cause fear
2. They did not know their strength. The angel told Gideon: “Go with the strength you have…” (Judges 6:14). The angel could have added, “Not in the weaknesses YOU THINK you have” (caps mine).
Many times we dwell on our weaknesses even though many of our weaknesses are mother’s thoughts. Instead, stop and play to your strengths. The Apostle Peter said this:
“For this very reason, strive to add good to your faith; to goodness, knowledge; to knowledge, self-control; to self-control, perseverance; to perseverance, piety; and to pity, brotherly affection and to brotherly affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:5-9).
Peter certainly built on his strengths. From a fisherman he went on to be one of the best-selling book authors of all time.
3. They were not at peace. I’m not just talking about the conflict that Gideon’s people had with their enemies, but the conflict within themselves. Gideon’s questions to the angel reveal an inner conflict. He was not at peace with himself. He, along with his compatriots, was not at peace with other people.
The very core of these internal and external conflicts was that they were not at peace with God. Thus, when Gideon knew that God had a purpose for him, the Bible tells us that “built
there an altar to Jehovah, and he called it Jehovah is peace.” (Judges 6:24).
Much of our inner turmoil can be traced to confusion with God in the form of guilt, unforgiveness, bitterness, and the like. Internal turmoil causes low self-esteem.
Therefore, forgive yourself, first of all. Don’t torture yourself with past failures or mistakes. Know that failures and mistakes are there to make you a better and stronger person. Friedrich Nietzsche wrote: “Out of the war school of life: what does not destroy me makes me stronger.”
forgive yourself; then forgive those who have hurt you and ask for forgiveness from those who have offended you. Then ask God for forgiveness. Being at peace with God, others and
you give yourself a fresh start to build self-esteem.
