“When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, ‘The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.'” …

 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

-Judges 6:12, NIV

Professional athletes sometimes play on a one year “prove it” contract or forgo taking a contract prior to finishing off the last year in their current contract with the hopes of later inking a better one. 

This sort of gamble was put into a classic movie called Jerry MaGuire (1996) starring Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Renée Zellweger. In fact, Cuba Gooding Jr is the NFL athlete betting on himself to play well enough to get that better contract at the end of a season.

Who do we trust? Who do we say, “This person is a ‘good bet?'”

God is a “good bet.”

This is something I teach regularly here at Divorce Minister. God is worthy of our trust. He is worth it. We can put all our trust in Him and never worry that He is not “good for it.”

This is my personal experience. God is a “good bet” has been true for me. I testify to this.

When I was meditating today, I felt the Lord whisper into my “ear” a radical word. It was a word not unlike what Gideon received on his threshing floor:

“David, you are a good bet.”

This brought tears to my eyes. I had never thought of God believing in me. Yet, God’s life-giving voice was unmistakable:

“David, you are a good bet.”

God calls forth works in our lives. He sees things in us that we often do not see. God is the first to believe in us and our ability to carry out the important works He has prepared in advance for us to do (see Eph 2:10).

With a loss of a job and/or a loss of a spouse, it means a great deal to have people who “believe in you” and tell you that “you are a good bet.”

If a good friend would tell you this, why wouldn’t your best (all-knowing) friend Jesus do less?!

I am convinced God believes in us even when we do not. He is willing to bet on us even when we think He shouldn’t.

The Lord is still sending messengers like the one he sent Gideon. I am convinced. God has not stopped calling forth “mighty warriors” who may respond saying that really they are “the least.”

The question is:

Will we believe Him? Will we choose to agree with Him that we are, indeed, a “good bet?”

I don’t know about you. But I am choosing to receive this message and believe as best I can. I hope you do the same.