When we read Judges 6, we see Gideon having a low moment. We find this youngest son from the weakest tribe crouching in the winepress trying to thresh wheat in secret, so the mighty Midianite army won’t get a whiff of his harvest and swoop down to steal it. All of Israel was feeling abandoned by God and their hearts were confused and resentful. Every time they tried to get back up, they were gleefully knocked down by some neighboring pagan army. God’s chosen people wondered if He had given up on them and chosen someone else to love, protect, and set apart for Himself.
But Israel wasn’t down because God had forgotten them. They were hiding in caves because they had stubbornly and persistently chased after evil for many years. They had established traditions and patterns that avoided God altogether. The paths they walked in their homes and in their towns led them in the ways of wickedness. They were in a rut, and it’s hard to look up and figure your way out of habitual sin.
It takes something dramatic to turn our hearts back toward God.
Gideon was trudging his sweaty rut like the rest of Israel when an angel of the Lord appeared to him. Why would an angel appear to him? It wasn’t because Gideon was the one honorable man among thousands; it was because God’s time was right to raise up a leader in Israel. It is God who marks the seasons, who raises up leaders, and who brings down empires. “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor over it in vain” (Psalm 127:1). All other planning and plotting is futile.
I’ve never had to hide from an army, but I have had some low moments. I’m sure many of us can remember feeling confused and resentful at some point. In spite of our doubts and ruts—and the habitual trails that lead us to wickedness—God can lift us up to victory with Him. Gideon didn’t just decide to grit his teeth and pitch his military plan to the leaders. God chose him, called him, and promised him victory to “strike Midian down as if it were one man” (Judges 6:16).
Whatever your circumstances may be today, don’t let them scare you. Don’t let the worn pathways of sin lure you into hopelessness. Don’t be deceived by the voices that tell you that your sin is too great, that your habits can never be broken. Our God can rescue and redeem even the most lost. He is light in the deepest night. Run to the One who controls the sea and the stars, and trust Him with your darkest secrets.
Judges 6 narrates a crucial period in the history of Israel, an era of oppression, doubt, faith, and ultimately, divine intervention. The chapter unfolds the tale of Gideon, a man of humble origins, who rises from the threshing floor to become a judge of Israel under God’s divine guidance. It outlines the Israelites’ plight under Midianite oppression due to their disobedience, their cry for deliverance, the calling of Gideon, his tests of faith, and his preparation for war against the oppressors.
In reading the comments about “testing” and why God “allowed it”: God doesn’t want us to be deceived by the enemy. Asking “Is it You, God?” is different than asking “Can you do this?”
I don’t view the asking for signs as a lack of trust in God, as I believe that he knows the stories about what God has done in the past. He is questioning whether the voice is God’s or the enemy’s. It is a request for helping him discern the truth of it being from the one true God. A two step verification process is not a bad thing, but a way to discern true identity.
Praying for you!
Happy Friday ladies!! I’m heading out of town to celebrate my birthday with friends! Praying for you all. @RHONDA J – praying for your neck feels better. I hate getting migraines so I feel your pain.
Amen and Amen
The devo today hit home for me: “Don’t be deceived by voices that tell you your sin habits can’t be broken”. I am struggling in my marriage. Years of resentment have formed a callus around my heart towards my husband. And although he is trying, and is not the same person as before, I still find myself responding to him in my old patterns. Like the “ruts of sin” she talked about in the devo. I just default to anger and resentment and I found the need to confess this and repent. Please pray for God to give me the power to break these sin habits and soften my heart towards my husband. Thx ladies!
Amen Mercy! So good, thank you! I copied and pasted in my digital journey!
I highly recommend reading He Reads Truth for today! It really spoke of how the sin pattern is still happening in today’s world (over-all, in Israel, and our individual lives)!