Threshing wheat by the winepress- Displaced from the place of greatness

I’ve always wondered what kept me for years from embracing my divine purpose and walking in my ordained calling. In retrospect, I recollect that I fell victim to various cultural handicaps, ethnic stereotypes, financial constraints, mental limitations and a whole bunch of factors that become the foundation of my legitimate excuses. These factors made the mandate of God overwhelming, and improbable crippling me with fear to even engage the assignment of my life. I felt safe to strive for something comfortable that was not in line with the call of God. It was not as challenging, and demanding. The fear of the divine mandate pressured me to engage in an assignment that was not my call. It is unfortunate the many are still falling victim to the same scenarios. We will rather succumb to our comfort than engage our fear to access the divine best reserved for us in our call. How many God ordained entrepreneurs short change their blessings by working nine to five somewhere? We have people with great mandates locked in humiliating assignments. We are not functioning in our optimum because we engage our potentials in the wrong assignment. Our fears have frozen us from even engaging our God ordained call. We are displaced into the wrong assignment by our fears. This was the scenario of Gideon called to be a deliverer of Israel. In the time when he was needed he was threshing wheat at the winepress. Israel was under the bondage of the Midianites and their tyranny terrorized Gideon that he was threshing wheat at the wine press.

And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. (Jdg 6:11)

The terror of the Midianite has displaced Gideon to thresh wheat at the winepress. The wheat was supposed to be threshed at the threshing floor but to hide from the Midianites he had to thresh at the winepress. Gideon was abusing the purpose of the winepress. The Deliverer of God was succumbed to fear living below his ordained privileges, confused about why he was not accessing the divine favor. He survived by threshing wheat but was no where near the status, blessing and authority God had ordained for him. He had not responded to his mandate hence was locked out of the divine provision of his life.
How many believers are facing the same scenario as Gideon threshing wheat at their winepress? We have great Apostles doing security somewhere. God ordained Entrepreneurs crippled with fear, living a beggarly lifestyle instead of pioneering great businesses. Until we have awakened to our divine destiny, we will not realize our privileged status in God. Our potential only functions in its optimum in the parameter of our call. We will access our divine blessings when we embrace our divine callings. Therefore there must be a paradigm shift from where we are to where God has ordained for us. Our greatness resides in the zone of our divine mandate. Therefore we must be awakened to this to respond to our call.

Your divine identity is not defined by the reality of your circumstances
God sparked a revolution in the life of Gideon when He sent an Angel to call Gideon a mighty man of valor at the place of his mediocrity. He was a terrified farmer who had not won any battle but God called him mighty a man of valor. His divine identity was not a label of his circumstance. It was a divine concept that was established before his present circumstance. For God’s concept to become his reality he must respond to his call. Therefore he was made aware of where he ought to be not where he was. He was not called a farmer but a mighty man of valor. There was nothing about him that remotely suggested that label. Therefore, Gideon felt he had to refuse a label that was not his reality. His circumstance was very different to what he was called. As he complained about his limitation and lack, he was told to respond to the calling with what he had. He could not procrastinate waiting for the right time, amassing the needed resources, depending on the right people but he was to respond to the call immediately. He complained about his deficiencies but he was urged to respond anyway.

And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? (Jdg 6:14)

Whatever he needed will be supplied as he responded to his call. The “ might” will be unleashed as he responded to the mandate. Gideon responded and was blessed to become a mighty deliverer.
I hope the Gideons of today will respond to their divine mandates. As we engage our divine destinies, our resources and potentials will be unlocked into greatness.