In the Bible we can read about many men and women, whom we would call heroes. They conquered kingdoms, attacked the enemies, defeated mighty idols with their priests etc. We see their glorious victories and their successes, but do we see their beginnings and their circumstances?

Gideon achieved a mighty victory over a well-trained army of 135.000 soldiers with only 300 men, who didn`t even fight for themselves. But how did the whole thing start? God called Gideon to fight against the enemies of Israel (Judges 6, 11-14). He already called him to a hero at that time. What did Gideon do? – He refused! He didn`t think highly of himself and did not easily allow himself to be convinced by God. When he was finally obedient and went to destroy the altar of Baal and Aschera he did so at night because of fear.  Later, before he would move out against the army of the enemy, he needed two miracles to be absolutely sure, that God was with him! Is this what a hero looks like?

Daniel was a respected man who lived in a foreign country, with a foreign culture, and served a foreign king. He lived a simple life without a rebellious thought. God never even asked him to do anything! Envious rivals brought him into the situation with the lions `den. Daniel achieved the victory through total and unbending obedience towards God. We read nothing about his extraordinary courage, but he was prepared to die for his faith (Daniel 6, 1-29).

Daniel’s friends Hanaja, Mischael and Asarja came into a similar situation. Until they openly stood up for their God by taking a stand against idol worship, they had lived a relatively assimilated life far away from their own home and culture. The did not even reject the new names given to them (Schadrach, Mesach and Abed-Nego), even though they were names of idols. These were not the kind of heroes you see in action movies, fighting alone against everybody. Outwardly you couldn’t see anything special in these men, but inwardly they had something that stood up when it counted the most. The circumstances they lived in were difficult. They couldn’t change the circumstances, but their reaction in the circumstances revealed what was in them!
They had the potential of being hero in their hearts! It was hidden, until it was challenged.
This attitude of a hero in them began quite unspectacularly by them being obedient to God, which caused them to end up in a blazing furnace. But, we still remember their deeds today (Daniel 3, 1-33).

What does this mean to you? Maybe you think you are not a hero, because your life does not seem to be special, but the above mentioned men thought similarly. They were men in the middle of God’s will. And when you are in God’s will, everything can happen.
We ought not to be heroes in our own strength, but heroes through the strength of God. It doesn’t matter how great you are, but how great God is. God looks for people who are prepared to be used by God and be obedient to him.

You can experience your own personal heroic story. Maybe nobody else on this earth will hear about you, contrary to the heroes of the Bible, but God knows it and you will get the honor for that. It is worth it!

Missionaries all over the world are these kind of heroes. We know some of the stories of our missionaries, but many of them are untold. Most of the missionaries are no adventurers, even though an adventurous spirit doesn’t hurt. They are obedient to God and experience exiting stories. You can be part of this by supporting a missionary, by taking part in a short-term outreach or by becoming a missionary yourself!!

Stir up the hero in you!

Frank Erfeldt