How does Gideon's question in Judges 6:13 reflect our doubts during trials? Setting the Scene Israel is under Midianite oppression. Gideon is threshing wheat in a winepress—hiding, fearful, surviving. The Angel of the LORD calls him “mighty warrior,” yet everything around Gideon screams weakness and defeat. Gideon’s Honest Question “Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonders that our fathers told us about…? But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hand of Midian.” (Judges 6:13) Why Gideon Sounds Like Us • “If the LORD is with us…” – We know God’s promises, yet trials make His presence feel remote. • “Why has all this happened…?” – Suffering tempts us to rewrite theology around circumstances. • “Where are all His wonders…?” – We look back at past testimonies and wonder why we aren’t seeing the same power now. • “The LORD has forsaken us…” – Pain can distort perception: absence of visible help feels like abandonment. Roots of Our Doubts in Trials • Tunnel vision: focusing on present pain blinds us to God’s ongoing work (2 Kings 6:15-17). • Forgotten history: Israel’s deliverances were recited, but daily fear muted their impact (Psalm 106:7). • Misread timing: God’s delays are mistaken for indifference (Habakkuk 1:2-4). • Self-assessment: Gideon calls himself the least; weakness seems disqualifying (1 Corinthians 1:27-29). God’s Response to Doubt • Reassurance, not rebuke: “Go in the strength you have… Have I not sent you?” (Judges 6:14). • Personal presence: “I will be with you” (6:16). • Incremental signs: fire-consumed offering, fleece miracles—God meets honest doubt with evidence (6:17-40). • Transforming mission: Gideon moves from hiding to leading; trials become the stage for God’s power (2 Corinthians 12:9). Takeaways for Our Trials • Doubt voiced to God is part of faith’s growth, not its undoing. • Past wonders weren’t one-time events; they foreshadow present help (Hebrews 13:8). • God’s view of us (“mighty warrior”) precedes visible change. • Divine assurance is anchored in His character, not our circumstances (Isaiah 41:10). • Obedience, even while uncertain, positions us to witness His deliverance. Encouragement from Other Scriptures • Asaph wrestles: “Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure…” then sees God’s end for the wicked (Psalm 73). • The father cries, “I believe; help my unbelief!” and Jesus heals (Mark 9:24). • Thomas doubts; Jesus invites him to touch the scars (John 20:27). The pattern is consistent: God welcomes honest questions, reveals Himself, and strengthens faltering faith. Living It Out • Recall and recount God’s past faithfulness—your story and Scripture’s. • Bring every “why” to Him; He already knows it. • Act on the light you have; further guidance comes in motion. • Expect His presence in the very place fear once ruled—winepresses become staging grounds for victory. Gideon’s question mirrors our own, yet his story assures us: the LORD who met him in weakness still meets us, turns doubt into dependence, and fashions deliverers out of the least likely people. |
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