Who Are You? A Conversation with Veronica Cope

Hey Girl, the Podcast Episode 2

Have you ever wondered how God could use someone like you? Have you always been the underdog, the nerd, the last one picked for the team? Or have you just had some serious failures in your life and now you think it will be too hard to recover. If this is you, stay tuned, before you give up, I have someone I want you to meet.

“The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you! …’But Lord,’ Gideon replied, ‘how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!’” (Judges 6:12,15, NLT).

It was a classic God move to choose the least likely candidate among the Israelite tribes to take on the task of saving His people from an army that was like a “swarm of locusts” (Judges 6:5, CEV). But God has the ability to see beyond the present moment and call what will be as though it already is. The trick is to listen for that and act according to His Word and not according to what you see when you look in the mirror. He told Gideon, “Go with the strength you have…I am sending you!” That’s all Gideon needed. He may have been the least likely to do it, but he did it, and so can you.

Veronica Cope is a native of Tarboro, a tiny town about 70 miles from Raleigh where she lived with her parents and three siblings. Her family was poor but hardworking and Veronica raised to love God and follow His path for her. Presently, Veronica Cope is an acclaimed lawyer and superior court judge in Gwinnett County Georgia, but this is not where her story began. At an early age, Veronica rebelled against her Christian upbringing and got pregnant. She was just twelve years old! In our interview she describes how she rose from the ashes of poverty and poor decisions to now sit on the bench where justice is served.

Like Gideon, you may see yourself as ill-equipped for the work God is calling you to. Like Veronica, you may have made some serious mis-steps which could disqualify you, but as these two stories remind us. God’s plan will succeed with or without us. You can either join Him or stay where you are.