In the midst of a culture that was reaping the consequences of sin and turning away from God, God calls Gideon and declares that He is with them. Citing the great ways of the past in which God showed Himself to truly be with them, Gideon asks a question that Christians could certainly ask today, “If the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?”
I. Matthew 14:28-33. We have the same reassurance that Gideon received–that God is with us (Matthew 28:20) and that He will never forsake us (Hebrews 13:5-6), yet we, like Peter stepping out of boat, take our eyes off Jesus because the winds around us are so fierce. Our circumstances and situation in a dark world are going to rage (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). This doesn’t mean that God is not there. We must fix our eyes on Him (Hebrews 12:1-3) to not grow weary or fainthearted.
II. Judges 6:11-32. More than just his circumstances, Gideon was overwhelmed because he saw his weaknesses and helplessness in the midst of the culture he was a part of. Most Christians feel this way today. We, like Gideon, can take great reassurance that this is exactly the situation in which God works (1 Corinthians 1:25-29) so we may not boast. Paul, in pleading for the ‘thorn’ to be removed from him, was told that God’s power in his life was made perfect in Paul’s weakness (2 Corinthians 12:8-10).
III. Judges 6:33-40. Jesus said if we had faith as small as a mustard seed, then nothing would be impossible for us (Matthew 17:20). God readies Gideon to take on His people’s enemies by first taking a ‘smaller’ step at home. After he tears down his father’s altar to Baal and burns his Asherah pole, Gideon is defended by his earthly father and his heavenly Father sends him an army. We too need our faith tested if we are to become mature and complete (James 1:2-4). Are you willing to take that step?
Are circumstances or weakness coloring your perspective? Or, are you seeing clearly through faith?